Back In Baby's Arms
by TBorah89
Summary: In the wake of their car accident Rayna finds out that she is pregnant with Deacon's baby. It is further complicated by the fact that she has just started something with Luke. Will she give up on being with Deacon forever or will she give into what her heart wants despite her fears? Deacon meanwhile is determined to be the best father he can be no matter what.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I know I already have like a million stories that I need to finish, but I couldn't help it I had to write to this one. I love playing around with AU Deyna. I promise that this is setting up for Deacon and Rayna to eventually be together, they just have to go through a little angst first. Anyway I hope you guys like it.

* * *

Chapter 1

Rayna sat in her SUV outside of Deacon's East Nashville home. She was waiting for Maddie to be done with her guitar lesson before she went inside. The conversation she had to have with him was better off if she did it without prying ears. Their daughter was already asking too many questions that neither of them had the answers to. It was understandable given the fact she'd just found out that Deacon was her father, but still it pulled the scabs off of wounds and opened them back up.

She stared at the piece of paper that was the reason for the conversation she had to have with Deacon. It wasn't like they were talking about anything other than Maddie, not since she'd told him that they were going to have to save themselves and not fall back into the cycle of dragging each other down. This piece of paper changed everything though, it would have them even more involved with each other than they already were. It would also entail a deeper level of involvement than she wanted to think about at the moment.

A level that she wasn't comfortable with anymore or at least that's what she told herself. There was a reason that she made herself wait out in the car for Maddie when she had her guitar lessons. It technically wasn't her week with Maddie, but it was better if she took her to Deacon's and didn't let Teddy do it. That would only end in a fight that wouldn't help matters any at all. She squeezed the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles turned white and then she released it.

Deep down she knew that she didn't have to be nervous about this. It was Deacon and he would be happy once he got over the shock. She debated the merit of telling him at all, but she knew she had to. Not telling him things he needed to know was how they got in this position to begin with She couldn't do this to him a second time no matter how easy it would make her life.

She stared at the piece of paper again and groaned inwardly. She had to tell Deacon that she was once again pregnant with his baby. There was no question in her mind that he was the father or that she wanted this baby no matter how it had come to be. She laughed bitterly, now that she could actually be with him and raise this child up together they weren't in a place that was possible. There was too much hurt and anger between them for that to happen right now. Plus, she wasn't sure that it was safe for her to open herself up to him again. Not long ago she had almost died from the accident they were in.

She looked up and she saw Maddie and Deacon standing together on the front porch. She grabbed her purse out of the backseat and put the papers in it. She got out of the car and walked across the street.

"Hey, mom," Maddie greeted her mother.

"Hey, sweetie, how was your lesson today?" Rayna put a smile on her face. She didn't want her daughter to know that anything was amiss.

"It was good," Maddie replied.

"She plays guitar like she's a Claybourne or somethin'." Deacon added.

"That's good. Maddie do you think you can hang out here for a minute? I have to talk to Deacon." Rayna asked her.

"She'd probably be more comfortable out back." Deacon offered. He looked a little uneasy. He wasn't sure what he and Rayna could possibly have to talk about.

"That's right you do have that nice little area back there." Rayna nodded. "Maddie, go on out back. Everything is fine I just have a couple of things to talk to Deacon about." She smiled again to reassure her.

"Ok," Maddie looked between her parents before doing as she was told.

Deacon slipped his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. "What is this 'bout, Ray?" If she had something she was pissed at him about he would rather she just bitch at him and get it over with

"Can we go inside? This is a sensitive matter and I wanna discuss it away from prying ears and eyes." Rayna told him.

"Of course, come on in. I just thought you may be more comfortable outside." Deacon opened the door and gestured for her to go inside.

"Thanks," Rayna smiles and walked inside the house. She looked around and took in the house. It seemed just like yesterday she'd moved all her stuff out. In her mind she could lay out the nursery for their new baby without even having to walk down the hall.

"What's all this about?" Deacon took a seat on the couch.

Rayna didn't answer him verbally at first. She pulled a wrapped package out of her purse and handed it to him. "Open that and then we will talk."

Deacon took the package with a confused look on his face. "Ok," he shrugged his shoulders and tore into the package. He was even more confused when he saw a grainy black and white photo inside a silver picture frame. "What is this?" Deep down he knew what it was, but his brain couldn't put that information together at the moment.

"Deacon, you aren't dumb. You know what this is." Rayna put her hand on her stomach and patted it. Even though she was mad at him she still wanted the way she told him about their baby to be special for him.

Deacon's eyes went wide and his jaw fell open in shock. "Oh my God, you're pregnant."

"I'm pregnant," Rayna nodded her head in confirmation. "You're gonna be a daddy again." Her eyes teared up, but there was a small smile on her face.

Deacon didn't say anything for a moment. Finally, he stood up and pulled her into a big hug. "We are havin' another baby."

Rayna let herself relax in his arms and hug him back. "We are. It complicates things, but I'm happy about it. I hope you are too. This baby survived against all odds, so obviously it was meant to be."

"I'm very happy. This is everythin' I have ever wanted with you. We are gettin' a chance to do this together like we shoulda done with Maddie." Deacon gently kissed her forehead.

"Yeah we do. Now it's more important than ever for us to work through this crap and save ourselves before we try to save each other." Rayna pulled back from him. She didn't want to give him false hope that they were suddenly going to be together.

"I know I messed up, Ray. I ain't the only one though. I ain't gonna give you no reason to keep this baby from me though. I wanna be there every step of the way. I wanna be involved with everythin." Deacon told her firmly. He stared into her eyes as he spoke, so she would know that he meant it.

"I know you may not believe me, but I promise you that I would never keep this baby from you. Now that you know I wouldn't keep Maddie from you either. You're a good daddy to her and I know you will be to this baby too." Rayna took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Deacon smiled his thanks. "Thanks, Ray." He blushed a little. "How far along are you?"

"I'm like six or seven weeks. That means you probably got me pregnant on that tour bus. I think God must really want us to raise a baby together." Rayna let out a chuckle.

"When are you gonna tell the girls? I wanna be there with you when you do." Deacon told her.

"Well, they will be back on Sunday. So, maybe we can have family dinner and tell them then." Rayna suggested:

"That sounds good to me. Just let me know what I can bring." Deacon replied. He was excited and terrified at the same time.

"I will let you know." Rayna nodded her head.

Deacon crossed his arms and looked around unsure what to do or say.

Rayna could sense the awkwardness that he was feeling. "If Maddie is anythin' to judge by, this is gonna be one amazin' kid."

"She is very special. We are older and wiser now. I think if Baby Claybourne is half that special we can consider ourselves extremely lucky." Deacon smiled.

Rayna couldn't help smiling too. She loved the way that sounded. "Baby Claybourne, huh?"

"Yeah, Baby Claybourne. I don't wanna call our child an it. Just give me time and I will think up a good nickname." Deacon reached his hand out like he wanted to touch her belly, but he hesitated he wasn't sure that she would like that.

"Why not Baby Jaymes?" Rayna teased him. "Go on, that's your baby in there. You can touch my belly all you want." She took his hand and placed it on her still flat stomach.

Deacon caressed her belly lovingly. He didn't know if it was love for her or their unborn child. It was probably a little bit of both. Despite what she had been him through he would love her until the day he died. "'Cause that baby is a Claybourne just like their older sister."

"Baby Claybourne it is. And I think if you're gonna be all in with this baby that we need to think 'bout how you need to be Maddie's daddy too." Rayna brought up a subject they hadn't broached yet.

"I don't wanna hurt her or have her feel like I'm forcin' her to be with me and only me 'cause I'm her real father." Deacon explained himself.

"You know you would be well within your rights to do so. I just am concerned she is gonna feel left out with the new baby on the way and you gettin' to make such a fuss over it." Rayna replied.

Deacon pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know that I would love nothin' more than that. I feel like I'm nothin' more than an extra parent here. I feel like an outsider who gets to visit with her every now and then, but doesn't have any actual authority as a parent. I wanna be her daddy. I want her to have my last name."

"Why don't we try to work somethin' out between the two of us? We can do that and then gradually work our way up to the big stuff." Rayna bargained with him. Now that he knew about Maddie and they had another baby on the way there was no way that she could expect him to be just a part time father to one of their children while he got to be fully involved with the other. It would be messy and complicated, but she owed him that much. Even if they could never be together again she didn't want his relationship with their children to suffer.

"I like the sound of that." Deacon nodded in agreement.

"If we could keep this just between us until after we tell the girls that would be great. I don't want someone who shouldn't to overhear or anythin' like that." Rayna told him.

"Ok, I can do that." Deacon offered her a small smile.

"I mean you can tell Scarlett, of course. Just hold off on tellin' your family in Mississippi." Rayna smiled back at him.

"Sure thing, my granddaddy is gonna be happy. He was when I told him 'bout Maddie." Deacon sank back down in his chair completely relaxed.

"He was pressurin' us to have a baby together years ago when we were still together. I'm glad that he's gonna get a chance to meet Maddie and this one we have on the way." Rayna felt herself relax too. This had gone much better than she'd thought it would.

"My momma will start knittin' now and not stop 'til this kid is thirty." Deacon laughed.

"Tell her not to get too carried away." Rayna just shook her head. "I should get goin' and get Maddie back to Teddy." She went to open the door to the back yard.

"Of course," Deacon let out a small sigh. "Hey, Ray," he called out to her.

"What?" Rayna turned around to look at him.

"Thank you for tellin' me 'bout the baby. You have no idea how much that means to me." Deacon said gratefully.

"Deacon, I never had any choice. I made that mistake once. I damn sure wasn't gonna make it again. You're gonna make a great daddy." Rayna reasoned with him.

"I'm gonna try my best." Deacon swore to her.

* * *

"Hey, Deacon, come on in." Rayna greeted him Sunday afternoon when he showed up for the dinner they were having with the girls.

"I brought a pie." Deacon handed the pie he had bought to her.

"You really didn't have to do that. I told you, you didn't have to bring anythin'." Rayna accepted it with a smile.

"Yeah I did. I got your favorite. How are you feelin'?" Deacon inquired about the baby.

"I'm feelin' normal. Things are a little rough in the mornings sometimes, but it's not as bad as it was with the first two." Rayna informed him.

"Where are the girls?" He asked. He was surprised that he didn't hear them.

"They are up in their rooms. They should be down any minute. You can help me finish dinner if you want to." She led him into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I guess I can help ya. I wouldn't want you to overdo it or anythin' like that. Just tell me what needs to be done and I'll do it." He teased her.

"I'm growin' your baby here you better be sweet to me." She bumped her hip against his playfully.

He looked to make sure neither of the girls were around before he put his hand on her belly. "Hey, Baby Claybourne, you be good for your momma. Daddy can't wait to meet you."

She put her hand on top of his. "Your momma can't wait to meet you either." She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand in a familiar gesture. Their eyes met and she pulled away from him before she could let herself get lost in his eyes.

"So, what can I help with?" He cleared his throat. It was obvious that the spark of electricity was still there between them.

"If you can still make spaghetti sauce like you used to you can do that." She put him to work.

"I can do that." He got to work.

"Good, it seems like it's been forever since I've had your spaghetti." She replied.

Deacon diced up tomatoes and put them in a pot. "So, what is goin' on with you?" he tried to make conversation to keep from falling into awkward silence.

"Now that I finally bought my way outta Edgehill I'm working on buildin' my label up. As you know Scarlett is gonna be goin' out on the road with Luke Wheeler, so that's somethin' good. Other than that I'm pretty borin' right now." Rayna sat at the counter and watched him work.

"I'm workin' on gettin' back to playin' at full strength like I used to before I hurt my wrist. So far so good. I think I've got a label interested in me as a front man, so we will see how that goes. I'm just really enjoyin' spendin' time with Maddie and formin' that father-daughter bond with her." Deacon talked to her while he minced up garlic.

"That's good I'm glad you're gettin' back to playin'. It would be a shame if you could never play again. The world is a brighter place when you play your guitar." Rayna complimented him.

"Thanks," He smiled at her over his shoulder. "Givin' Maddie lessons is really helpin' with my recovery. She's so good that she pushes me to want to be on the top of my game to teach her how to be better. I would really love to work with her two days a week instead of one. Hell, I'd work with her every day if I could. Those two hours a week just don't feel like enough."

"You're welcome. I'm sure that she would love that. I will see what we can work out about you two gettin' more time together. I've heard her play and she obviously doesn't get that from me." She replied.

He had to chuckle at that. "She most certainly does not get that from you." He added a few more spices to the pot.

"Hey, be nice to me." She pointed a threatening finger in his direction.

He picked up a spoon and stirred the ingredients together. "I am bein' nice to you. You invited me over to dinner and I'm the one cookin'."

"You know I'm supposed to be relaxin' as much as possible in my state." She teased him.

"Yeah, I know you are. You didn't hear me argue when you asked me to step in." He laughed a little.

The girls came down the steps at that moment.

"Deacon, what are you doing here? I didn't know that you were coming over." Maddie asked.

"Mom, you didn't tell us that Deacon was coming over." Daphne said.

"Deacon is here because we have something that we want to talk to y'all about." Rayna answered.

"And because apparently she needed me to cook dinner." Deacon tried to make a joke.

"Talk to us about what?" Maddie asked.

"Why don't you two take a seat? It's better to just get this out in the open and over with." Deacon turned the pot on simmer.

Both girls sat down at the counter.

Rayna turned around and took both of their hands. "First and foremost I want y'all to know that I love you very much and nothing will ever change that." She nodded at Deacon for him to continue.

"Well, it turns out that your momma and I are havin' another baby together. It happened when we were together before any of us knew that I am Maddie's father." Deacon explained to them.

"Seriously? We don't have enough going on? We have to bring a baby into this." Maddie scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Maddie, I know that it's a lot and you get to feel however you need to feel right now. no one is gonna blame you for that. I just ask that you keep the lines of communication open and don't take my mistakes out on this baby. This is your baby brother or sister the same way that Daphne is." Rayna knew that she wasn't going to take it well.

"You and I are just gettin' started I know that. We don't really have that bond established yet, but I promise you that I won't feel any differently about this baby than I do about you." Deacon swore to her.

Maddie nodded, but she crossed her arms over her chest.

Daphne looked down sadly. "I'm not gonna belong anywhere anymore. Dad and Peggy are having a baby. Now you guys are having another baby and I'll just be left out."

"That is not true. You and Maddie are sisters the same way you always have been nothin' will ever change that. You're gonna have an important new job as big sister." Rayna tried to cheer her up.

"You kiddin' me, Squirt? You ain't gonna be left out there was a whole reason I wanted to be here when your momma told you. This whole thing is complicated, but I promise you that Maddie will always be your sister and this baby will always be your sibling too 'cause y'all come from your momma. I wouldn't ever do anythin' to come between that. I want you to know that I'm always here for you the same way I am Maddie and the baby if you ever need me." Deacon tried his hand at talking to her.

"Ok," Daphne nodded meekly.

Rayna sent a grateful smile in his direction she couldn't have said it any better herself. He was really taking to being a father like a duck took to water.

They made through dinner with the girls without any incident. Deacon stayed behind to help Rayna clean up the last thing he wanted was her being on her feet anymore than she had to be. If he could take something off her he was going to do it. He'd meant it when he said that he wanted to be there for everything.

"Well, I don't think that that went as terribly as it could have." Deacon commented.

"It didn't go nearly as bad as I thought it would. Part of that is thanks to you. I don't know how you know how to handle those girls so well, but you do. I'm so thankful for that." Rayna replied.

"I'm startin' to think that we are gonna be able to pull this off. And that maybe we are gonna be able to once again recover from the damage we've done to each other. I know it's still a little soon, but I actually think we just may work our way back to each other." He didn't know where that burst of optimism had come from.

She sighed. "Deacon, there is somethin' that I need to tell you."

"You can tell me anythin'. That ain't changed just 'cause we ain't in the greatest place right now." He tried to put her at ease with whatever it was she had to tell him.

She took a deep breath and just plowed ahead before she could change her mind. "I'm kinda sorta seein' Luke. It's not anythin' serious. It's fun and uncomplicated. I need that right now. I hope you understand. I'm not sayin' that we will never be together again. I'm just sayin' not right now."

Without meaning to he looked absolutely crestfallen. "I understand. I don't have to like it and I don't, but I do understand. I just know that you and I are bonded in a way that can't nothin' come between." He shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"The only thing that matters is Maddie and this baby are so loved and they came from a place of love. The rest will sort itself out." She put her hands in her back pockets.

"Well, I guess I should get goin'." He wanted to get out of there before things got anymore awkward than they already were.

"Did you wanna say bye to the baby before you go?" She offered him an olive branch.

He didn't hesitate, he walked over and put his hand on her belly. "Bye, Baby Claybourne, daddy loves you and he will talk to you again soon." He left before she could see the tears brimming in his eyes.

* * *

Rayna pulled up in front of Luke's house. She couldn't put off telling him about her pregnancy. If they were going to do whatever it was they were doing together then she had to be honest with him and let the chips fall where they may.

"Well, hey there, Stranger. To what do I owe the pleasure of gettin' to see you?" Luke greeted her happily. He couldn't believe after years of pining away for Rayna that he was actually with her. He didn't think in a million years he would be able to break the spell that Deacon had on her.

"I came 'cause we need to talk." Rayna gave him a half smile.

"That sounds ominous. What is this about?" Luke asked. He could tell by the look on her face that he really wasn't going to like whatever it was she had to say.

"There's no easy way to say this so, I'll just say it. Luke, I'm pregnant." Rayna crossed her arms in front of her protectively.

Luke's eyes went wide and his face paled. "I thought we were careful."

Rayna held up his hand in a sign for him to let her finish. "We were, this isn't your baby. It's Deacon's baby. And I would totally understand if you didn't wanna keep doin' whatever it is we're doin'. I know that this complicates things."

Luke rubbed his hand across his jaw and took a moment to collect his thoughts. "I'd be lyin' if I said I was thrilled about this. But, I would also be stupid to walk away from whatever this is between us. I don't know about you, but I feel like this could be somethin' real."

Rayna nodded her head. "I would understand if you needed to take some time. This is a less than ideal situation and I can't ask you to go along with that if it's not somethin' you really wanna do."

Luke reached over and took her hand. "I've wanted a chance with you since the minute I met you. I would be a fool to throw that away just 'cause things may be a little complicated. If you choose to stick with this good ol' country boy then I promise you I ain't got no problem lovin' any child that comes from you."

Rayna smiled and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, you have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that. Unplanned and complicated as it is, I'm very happy about this baby."

"It shows. You're glowin' more than you normally do. I have to say that there is nothin' more beautiful than a mother to be." Luke poured on the charm. He leaned in and pecked her lips.

Rayna genuinely smiled at that. "Oh stop it, I'm a mess right now. I honestly forgot what it was like to have all these hormones goin' through my body. I am a crazy person right now." She didn't know why she was trying so hard to make things work with Luke. Every cell in her body was telling her that this was her and Deacon's chance to come back from the hell they had caused each other. She was just scared of all the hurt and pain that was still there. It was too soon for her to even think of that. They only thing that mattered right now was focusing on the baby.

"Have you eaten today? If not we can go in the house and I can fix you somethin'." Luke showed genuine concern for her.

"I'm not gonna turn down food. I don't remember bein' this hungry with the girls. I want to eat all the time. It'll be a miracle if I don't gain a hundred pounds with this baby." Rayna replied.

"You eat however much you want and don't worry about it. Growin' a baby is hard work. Maybe it means you're havin' a boy this time." Luke led her into the house.

"I wouldn't even know what to do with a boy. I'm so used to havin' girls." Rayna sat down at the counter.

"It could be a new adventure for ya." Luke teased her.

"Don't you go teasin' me. I'm an emotional mess. It doesn't take much for me to burst into tears these days." Rayna shot back playfully.

"Alright, I'll leave you be. You just tell me what you want to eat." Luke relented. He'd be damned if he wasn't happy about this. He liked the way she was leaning on him in her moment of need.

* * *

A/N: Here is the first chapter I hope you guys enjoyed it. There are just so many possibilities with a story like this and I'm gonna have fun with it and I hope you guys do too. Let me know what you think. Until next time please review.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 2

Deacon sat next to Rayna in the waiting room of her doctor's office. He was surprised that she hadn't made him sneak in to avoid the press. He was grateful when the nurse called them back to the exam room. "Did you want me to wait outside while you get changed?" he wasn't really sure where the boundary line was these days.

"It's not like I've got anythin' that you haven't already seen. I'm sure it's burned into your brain anyway. There's no sense in you waitin' outside." Rayna started to change her clothes as soon as the nurse closed that do.

"That it is." He smirked.

"I can say the same thing about you." She sat up on the exam table once she'd finished changing.

"I got a greatest hits album that I play over and over in my head." Deacon couldn't help himself.

"You need to stop. That's how we got in this position twice." Rayna laughed at him. Despite all the hurt and anger they were harboring toward each other, she still felt comfortable with him.

Another smirk played on his lips. "As I recall it we both like the positions that get us in this position."

She swatted his chest playfully. "Stop, you are terrible."

"As I recall you like that too." Quitting while he was ahead wasn't in his wheelhouse.

The doctor walked in and stopped their banter. "Alright, Rayna, today we are just gonna do an ultrasound and see how things are looking."

"That sounds good to me." Rayna agreed.

"You must be dad." Dr. Ford addressed her comment to Deacon.

"That'd be me." Deacon smiled.

Rayna laid back on the bed and pulled her gown up so the doctor could do the ultrasound. She held out her hand for Deacon to take. "Come hold my hand you aren't gonna wanna miss this."

Deacon took stood beside her and took her hand. "You're right,"

Dr. Ford grabbed the ultrasound gel. "This is gonna be a little cold." She squirted the gel on her stomach.

Rayna flinched from the temperature of the gel.

"You ok?" Deacon looked concerned.

"I'm fine. It was just cold." Rayna reassured him.

Deacon nodded his acceptance of that. "I was just makin' sure."

Dr. Ford picked up the wand and moved it around Rayna's belly. "We have a perfectly healthy fourteen-week old fetus. Everything is on track with where it should be. I would ask if y'all wanted to hear the heartbeat, but I already know the answer to that." She turned up the volume on the ultrasound machine.

Soon the rhythmic _thump-thump-thump _of the baby's heartbeat filled the room. It was a strong, steady sound almost like a melody. That was fitting considering both Rayna and Deacon were musicians.

Deacon's eyes teared up as he stared at the screen. It was overwhelming enough when he could see his baby, but hearing the heartbeat was almost emotional overload.

"Are you ok?" Rayna asked him. She knew from experience what he was feeling, she was feeling it too, but it wasn't the first time for her. It wasn't even her first time with his baby, but it was her first time with him by her side.

He swiped at his misty eyes. "Yeah, I'm good. That's just 'bout the sweetest sound I've ever heard."

"I know, it's amazin'." She was in awe watching him go through this range of emotion. It warmed her heart to see him so excited. It meant even more to her that he seemed to be in a stable place with his sobriety.

"Ok, I'm going to go print off these pictures and you can schedule your next appointment on the way out." Dr. Ford told her.

"It's ok that I waited so long between my positive pregnancy test and getting this first exam?" Rayna asked. She was a little concerned with how long the doctor had wanted her to wait to come in.

"It's perfectly fine. I scheduled your appointment this way, so at your next appointment you can find out the sex of the baby if you want." Dr. Ford reassured her.

"Ok, I've been worried about that and that's a weight off my shoulders." Rayna replied.

"The baby is really ok?" Deacon asked. He was worried that something had happened because of the accident.

"The baby is completely fine. That heartbeat you just heard is a great indication that everything is going to continue to be fine." Dr. Ford did her best to calm her first time daddy jitters.

"That's all I needed to hear. I know that my little Baby Claybourne is a fighter." Deacon smiled happily.

"You wouldn't be a good daddy if you didn't worry." Dr. Ford smiled at him. "Rayna, I will leave you to get dressed now. You can pick up your ultrasound at the front desk and make your next appointment on the way out. I will see you in six weeks to find out the sex and to the amnio. After that I want to see you every four weeks. You know the drill by now." She said before she left the room.

Rayna wiped the gel off her stomach. "I don't know about you, but it's a relief for me to hear that everything with the baby is ok." She got off the table and started to get dressed.

"Me too. I would never forgive myself if somethin' had happened to the baby 'cause of that accident." Deacon retorted.

Rayna nodded her acceptance of that. "What do you say you meet me back at the house and we talk about things? I know that we talked before, but now things are real and we need to have another conversation."

"I agree, I will meet you there." Deacon slipped his hands into the back pockets of his jeans.

* * *

Rayna had a glass of sweet tea waiting for Deacon when he got to her house.

"Well, this is some kinda service. I could get used to this." Deacon made a lame joke.

"You shouldn't. You know me better than that." Rayna joked back with him.

"What do you wanna talk 'bout?" Deacon asked her. There was no use in putting off the inevitable.

"How do we make this work? Whether we are ready or not this baby is comin' and we need to have a plan." Rayna stated bluntly.

He took a sip of his tea to give himself a minute to frame his reply. "We just make it work like we always do. I mean I know at first that the baby is gonna have to stay with you. I figured that I could pop by every day and see the baby. I don't wanna miss anythin'. I can't miss anythin'. This is my one chance to be a daddy from the start and I don't wanna waste it. I of course, will pay you child support. I won't be a deadbeat dad. I've made it this far in life without becomin' my father and I ain't 'bout to start now."

She nodded her head. She understood where he was coming from. "I don't want you to miss anythin'. I want you to be there for every little mundane thing. I kept you from this once and I ain't about to do it again. I am not about to make you pay child support I can provide for this child just like I do the other two. I'm lucky enough to be in a position where this isn't a financial burden for me. And not for one second am I worried that you won't provide for this child as well. I know that you aren't your father even if you don't always know that. From where I stand the only thing you got from that man was your looks. You may have gotten his disease, but you have a handle on it. You had a slip up and I know that it won't turn into a fall. I was young and scared before, but I know I can count on you to raise this baby up with me."

"Rayna, I'm gonna pay child support there is no question 'bout that. A man provides for his family. I ain't tryin' to take away all that you have and all you've accomplished. You have everythin' that you've been wantin' since we started out. I was there with you for all of it and you know that I support you. You know that you don't have to make yourself small, so I can be big. But, I can't let you take care of our child with no financial support from me. This is our child like Maddie is our child and this is somethin' that we have to do together without any outside input. This baby is our legacy made from a place of love not my damn meal ticket." He shook his head stubbornly. He would be damned if he was saw as the man who was leeching off a successful woman just because they had a baby together.

"I can understand that. Instead of child support we can figure out things that you can pay for. I want us to figure this out together on our own without involving any lawyers. We can write up an agreement and handle this amongst ourselves. I don't want anythin' out there that the press can get ahold of and have a field day with." She was more than willing to meet him in the middle.

"I can live with that. To start off with I can buy all the nursery furniture for here and my place. Oh, hell I'm gonna have to get a bigger place. I don't have enough room for Scarlett and Maddie to have a room and for the baby to have a nursery, but I can figure that out later." He sighed.

"Not everythin' has to be figured out now. We will work it out. No matter what state we are in now we both have a lot of love for each other and I know that we are both crazy about this baby." She gave him a reassuring smile.

He smiled brightly. He could tell just by the tone of her voice that she already loved this child just as much as he did if not more. He could say a lot about her, but he couldn't say that she wasn't a good momma. He knew that if she was nothing else she was that. The proof was that she'd kept Maddie from him just to protect her. "You really are happy about this baby aren't you?"

"I am. I know this sounds crazy, but all I can think about since we got out of that appointment is baby names." She smiled back.

He laughed softly. "What were you thinkin'?"

"I was thinkin' that if this baby is a girl then maybe we can name her Virginia after my momma. And if it's a boy Jaymes Wyatt or Wyatt Jaymes would be a good name." She told him what she was thinking.

He just nodded his head. He didn't know what to think of those names. He got wanting to name a girl after her momma, but he had some important men in his life that he might like to name a boy after. He had to smile though when she said that she was thinking of Jaymes as a first name it meant that she already was giving this baby his last name. "As far as I can tell the one thing we agree on right now is that the last name is gonna be Claybourne. I would be happy to name a girl after your momma she gave me you. But as for boy names there's Henry and Samuel after my momma's daddy and then there's Deacon after me and my father's daddy."

"Henry would be after you too. I'm one of the few people in this world who know your name is actually Deacon Henry John." She teased him.

"Hey, don't you go callin' me by my full name, woman." He laughed a little. "We don't have to settle on a name right now. The pressin' matter is I have to tell my family and you have to tell yours." He replied.

"Did you want me to come be with you when you told your family? I would offer to have you be with me when I tell mine, but you know how daddy and Tandy feel about you." She offered.

"No, that would only raise questions that I don't wanna have to answer. You know that my momma loves you, but my sister not so much. I don't wanna hear it, I already got that song playin' in my head nonstop." He let her down as gently as he could.

A knock came on the side door and it opened before either of them had a chance to say anything else.

"Rayna, you here? I hate to just stop by like this, but you weren't answerin' your phone and I wanted to check in on you." Luke walked in without waiting for a response to his knock.

Deacon looked down at the counter and tried his best to keep his feelings under control.

"Hey, Luke, I wasn't expecting to see you. What are you doing here?" Rayna put a smile on her face.

"I knew that you had your big appointment today and I wanted to stop by to see how it went." Luke replied. "Hey, Deacon," he added as an afterthought. He wasn't thrilled to see his girlfriend's baby daddy there.

"Luke," Deacon nodded his head stiffly.

"The appointment went well. Everything is ok with the baby." Rayna reported she showed him an ultrasound picture.

Luke studied the picture for a moment. "Well, that is one good lookin' baby. Looks like its momma already."

"With Deacon and me either way this baby is gonna be good lookin'." Rayna replied.

Deacon cleared his throat to ease how uncomfortable he was feeling. "Listen I should really get goin', but before I do I know it's early. But, I bought the baby somethin." He pulled a onesie out of his shoulder bag. It had a guitar on it and Nashville written under it.

"Oh, Deacon, I love it. This is perfect for Baby Claybourne." Rayna took it from him and smiled.

Deacon smiled back. "I figured that the Squirrel had to have clothes."

Rayna laughed happily. "I can't believe that you're callin' our baby that and I love it at the same time."

"That's a good ol' country boy nickname if I ever heard one." Luke had to give his input on the matter.

"Yeah it is. I'm gonna get goin' now." Deacon bent down and kissed Rayna's belly. "Bye, Squirrel, daddy loves you. Have momma call me later, so I can tell you night-night." He left before things could get anymore awkward than they already were.

"Finally," Luke put his arms around Rayna and kissed her softly. "I thought he'd never leave and give us some privacy."

"Luke, this is his baby too. You can't expect me to keep him on the outside. He's gonna be involved and I need you to be ok with that if you wanna continue with whatever this is." Rayna laid down the law.

"I understand that part of it. In his shoes I know that I would feel the same way. I can't begin to understand how difficult the situation you're in is, but I can promise that I will be here to be your shoulder to lean on without makin' this hard on you." Luke swore to her.

"That's all I can ask for. I know that this is a lot to handle. In your shoes I don't know that I would stick it out." She replied. She appreciated him being so understanding.

"Like I said before I'm crazy about you and I can love anythin' that comes from you." Luke reassured her.

* * *

Deacon studied his reflection in the rearview mirror of his truck. He took a deep breath to collect himself. It was now or never, he could either get out of the truck and face the music or he could run like had been doing his whole life. He knew that Maddie and his new baby needed him to be better than he was, so he opened the door and stepped out onto the driveway of the ranch house he was parked in.

He walked up on the covered porch and knocked on the front door.

An older blonde haired woman opened the door wearing an apron. "Deacon, you're here." She threw her arms around his neck.

"Hi, momma, it's so good to see you." Deacon wrapped his arms around her.

"I am so happy to see you. I've been excited ever since you called and said you were comin'. It's such a rare treat for us to see you here in Natchez. You don't come around unless it's important. Come on in." June Claybourne ushered him into the house.

Deacon looked around and saw his grandparents and his sister sitting in the living room. "What's all this?"

"You said that you had somethin' that you wanted to tell us and I thought it would be easier on you if we were all in one place." June replied.

"Alright, I'll just get this outta the way, so we can have a nice time together." Deacon reached into his wallet and fished out the baby's ultrasound picture. "Momma, this is your newest grandbaby. Rayna and I are havin' another baby together. I wanted y'all to hear it from me 'fore you heard it somewhere else."

"You mean to tell me that the Belle Meade Princess decided you were good enough to know about this baby, but you weren't good enough to know about the other?" Beverly spit out hatefully. She couldn't cut her brother just a little bit of a break.

"Please don't start, Beverly, I just got here and I don't wanna fight with you. I want you to be happy for me and I want you to be excited to be Aunt Bev to Maddie and Baby Claybourne." Deacon sighed loudly.

"Deacon, do you have a picture of our Maddie?" Henry Jones asked. He was June's father.

"Yeah, Deac, we wanna see her." Big Deacon agreed.

Deacon pulled up a picture on his phone and showed it to them. "That's our Maddie right there. She is the best part of my life right now next to this baby. I'm both scared and thrilled. Come August I'm gonna be responsible for one that needs me for everythin' and I'm just gettin' used to one who can take care of herself."

"Oh, Deacon, she is beautiful. She looks so much like you." Ruth was Big Deacon's wife.

"Yeah, her momma likes to say that she looks like me, but I see a lot of Rayna in her." Deacon replied.

"That girl is clearly a Claybourne even Rayna can't deny that. I don't know how you didn't see it ages ago. There's no way that girl belongs to any man other than you." Beverly couldn't help sounding bitter.

June put both her hands on his cheeks and kissed his forehead. "I'm so happy for you, my boy. This may not be the way you wanted it to happen, but I'm so glad that you're gonna get the chance to be a daddy and I'm glad that you're gettin' the chance to get to know your daughter. I for one can't wait to meet my other granddaughter. Scarlett says that she's a lot like and that she is amazin'. I'm just sorry that I didn't know 'bout her 'til now."

Deacon kissed his mother's cheek. "I can't wait for y'all to meet her. I was actually hopin' that you would come to Nashville for a visit, so I can introduce you. I don't think that I can get her to come for a visit here just yet. I just don't think we should wait another minute. Grandmomma already didn't get to meet her and I don't want that to happen with y'all."

"I think we can manage that. I know I wanna see Nashville again and I would love nothin' more than to see my great-granddaughters together." Big Deacon spoke up.

"Big Pa, I want her to meet you almost more than anythin'. She's a Claybourne as much as she reminds of her momma she's like us. And I just know that she's gonna love you. I'm only sorry that you didn't get to do your thing with her when she was baby where you lay her on your guitar and play it." Deacon leaned over the back of the couch and hugged him around his neck. He didn't hesitate to place a big kiss on his cheek.

He walked around the front of the couch. He kissed his grandma lovingly and hugged her tight. "There's one of my best girls. If I have another daughter, I promise you that she's gonna have your name in her name."

He moved next to Henry. He hugged him and kissed his cheek. "I can't wait to see you show Maddie and Baby Claybourne how to pray. You taught me, Bev, and Scarlett. I want you to say a bedtime prayer with Maddie and then the first one with the Squirrel."

He hugged his sister and kissed the top of her head. "Gettin' to be Scarlett's uncle has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope you're gonna enjoy bein' Aunt Bev as much as I have enjoyed bein' Uncle Deacon."

"Deacon, it is so good to have you home. We've all missed you." June just beamed. She was so happy to finally have her son under her roof again that it wasn't funny.

"Mom, I don't understand why I'm doing my guitar lesson on a Saturday. I don't know why Deacon had to push it." Maddie complained to her mother as they pulled up in front of Deacon's house.

* * *

Rayna put the car in park and checked her reflection in the rearview mirror. "He had some things he had to take care of earlier in the week and he had me arrange it, so you guys could have a lesson today." She opened the door.

"What kind of things?" Maddie questioned.

"The kind of things that you will have to ask him about. I know that there is a part of yourself that you want to know more about, but he has to be the one to tell you his story. Now, come on let's go in." Rayna urged her.

"You're coming in? Normally you just stay out in the car." Maddie looked confused.

"I'm not here to interrupt your time with Deacon. We're havin' another baby together, we can't avoid each other anymore." Rayna put her arm around her shoulders and walked up to Deacon's front door. She knocked and waited for him to answer.

"Y'all quiet down in there. I'm tryin' to answer the door. I don't want anyone to think that I've got a bunch of wild animals in here." Deacon called over his shoulder as he pulled the door open. "Hey, Maddie, I'm so happy you're here. Come on in, y'all, I'm really excited for today." He opened the door wider to allow their entry.

June, Henry, Ruth, and Big Deacon all sat around the living room. Big Deacon and Henry both had guitars in their hands.

"Deacon, what is all this?" Maddie looked around and felt even more confused than she already was.

"It looks like you have a real party goin' on here." Rayna commented with a smile.

"You could say that." Deacon grinned. "Maddie, I have some people here who are real excited to meet you."

"Uh, ok," Maddie more or less agreed.

Deacon put his hands on June's shoulders. "Maddie, this is your grandmomma. Over there is your great-granddaddy Henry, your great-grandmomma Ruth, and your Big Pa or the original Deacon Claybourne as he likes to tell everyone." He pointed to each person as he spoke.

"Deacon, I am impressed. I can't believe you got all four of them in Nashville at the same time." Rayna told him. "It's so good to see y'all again."

"It took some doin', but I made it happen. Or rather Maddie made it happen. They all wanted to meet our girl." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"Rayna, come here. It's so good to see you. I can't believe that you're makin' me a grandma again." June pulled Rayna into a hug.

"It's good to see you too. I'm happy that I'm makin' you a grandma again too. Your son did what he does best and he gave me another surprise to go with the one he already gave me." Rayna pointed to Maddie. "Maddie, come meet your grandma. I can tell you from personal experience that you are gonna love her so much."

Maddie walked over shyly. "It's nice to meet you." she said meekly.

June smiled at her warmly. "Maddie, I'm so happy to finally meet you. You are beautiful and you look so much like your daddy. Even the way you hold yourself reminds me of him. Now, I don't wanna make you uncomfortable, so I'm gonna ask, would it be ok if I gave you a hug?"

Maddie looked unsure.

"Maddie, it's ok, sweet girl. Hug your grandma." Rayna encouraged her.

Maddie stepped into June's open arms and hugged her. She let herself relax and she breathed in her scent. "Don't think that this is weird or anything, but you smell like a grandma should."

June laughed and kissed the top of her head. "If you think I do you should go hug my momma. She is the epitome of a southern grandma and I learned everythin' I know from her."

"I think I'd like that." Maddie smiled.

Rayna and Deacon locked eyes and shared a meaningful look. Even with everything between them they could still communicate without using words.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Rayna walked Maddie into Teddy's house when she dropped her off later that night. Maddie went straight up to her room after saying hi to Teddy.

"Rayna, I don't think I have to tell you this, I'm sure you already know, but I am not thrilled with the fact that she was gone so long today or that having these guitar lessons are cutting into my time with Maddie. I can't believe that you're just going along with it." Teddy didn't bother with pleasantries he got right to the heart of the matter.

Rayna pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Teddy, he's her father I can't do anythin' about them both wanting to spend time with each other. Maddie has questions about who she is and he is the only one who can answer them for her. And then he wants to spend time with his daughter and I can't take that from him neither can you. We've already taken over a decade from them."

He scowled. "She's my daughter and I don't deserve to have my time with her cut short."

She shook her head. "Well, she is his daughter too. You need to play nice. At any time he could decide to take legal action and he would be well within his rights to do so. If he did that he would without a doubt win."

"I don't understand why you're going along with being so accomadating to him. They have their set day for lessons and he missed that he shouldn't get to take one of the only days I don't have official business because he couldn't be bothered to make time for her." He spit out.

"Because I have to be, Teddy. I don't know if the girls told you or not, but I'm havin' another baby with him. He's not gonna sit idly by and be all in with one child when he doesn't get to be with his first child." Rayna sighed loudly.

Teddy gave her a dirty look. "I can't believe you would do this again or put the girls in this position he almost got you killed, but you're having his child and letting him back into your life."

"This is my child too not just his and I love it. There is no way that I would consider not havin' it or makin' the same mistake that I made with Maddie and not tell him at all. You don't get to have an opinion here after the whole Peggy situation that you put them through. It's not like I'm gonna blind side them and marry him on a whim. Like I said the girls already know and they are happy about the baby. I don't need your permission and I'm damn sure not gonna ask you for it. Teddy I'm tellin' you right now you either get on board with Maddie spendin' time with Deacon or you will lose her if you fight it." Rayna stormed out without another word. She didn't need his judgment the stress it caused wasn't good for her or the baby.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 3

Deacon sat at the kitchen table at his laptop. He was shopping for things for the baby. Right now he was looking at cribs. He knew that he would have to buy one for his place and one for the nursery at Rayna's house. This situation sucked and every time he thought about Luke with his hands all over Rayna while she was carrying his baby made him sick to his stomach. Another part of him was happier than he'd ever been in his life. He couldn't deny that he was excited about this baby and he was already deeply in love with his child.

"Hey, what are you doin' in here? You look deep in thought." Scarlett walked into the room. She was only in town for a couple of days.

"I am shoppin' for baby furniture of all things if you can believe that. The Squirrel is gonna be here sooner than either of us realize and I thought I would get a jump on it." Deacon looked up from his computer.

"I never thought that I would see you shoppin' for baby furniture. I have to say I like this look on you." Scarlett smiled at him. "I will even ignore the fact that you're callin' my baby cousin Squirrel."

"Don't give me hell for that. This is my first baby. If I wanna come up with silly nicknames I will." He replied.

"I ain't got a problem with it. I think it's good to see you so happy." She kissed the top of his head.

"I didn't think that I was ever gonna be this happy again after the way I found out 'bout Maddie. Now, I'm gettin' the chance to do this from day one and I'm happy and terrified at the same time." He admitted.

"You're findin' your way with Maddie and you'll do just fine with this baby too. I can't wait 'til you find out the sex. I have to keep myself from buyin' every cute baby thing that I've seen lately." She replied.

"I'm doin' the best I know how. Sometimes I feel like I'm in over my head with Maddie and she can semi take care of herself. I don't know what I'm gonna do with one that depends on me for everythin'. I'm pretty excited for that appointment myself. Don't you go buyin' everythin' you see for Squirrel." He chuckled lightly.

"The way I figure it, you did just fine with me. You're the only daddy I've ever known and I turned out ok. You and Maddie just need to spend more time together and get a good feel for each other." She gave him a piece of advice.

"When did you get so wise that you started givin' me advice?" He asked.

"One of us has to use our brain in this situation." She teased him.

He nodded his head in acceptance of that. "What do you say you sit on down here and help me pick out some stuff for the nursery?"

"I ain't got nothin' better to do at the moment." She took a seat beside her uncle.

* * *

Tandy glared at her younger sister as she sat a plate of fresh fruit down in front of her. "Eat that, it's good for you."

"Why are you looking at me like that, Tandy? You act like I did something wrong." Rayna picked up a sliced peach and bit into it.

"You know damn well why I'm looking at you like this." Tandy rolled her eyes.

"You can't seriously still be mad at me for gettin' pregnant. You're my sister you're supposed to be on my side here." Rayna sighed loudly.

"I'm not mad at you for getting pregnant. I'm thrilled that you're making me an aunt again. I'm mad that you told the baby's father." Tandy retorted.

"Tandy, you can't expect me to do that to him again. I kinda had no other choice this time. He would have known without me tellin' him that he was the father. And what would I have done if this kid comes out lookin' just like him like the last one did? It'll be fine. He would never do anythin' to hurt this baby or Maddie for that matter." Rayna assured her. This kind of stress was the last thing she needed right now.

"Says the woman who just almost died in a car accident because of him. You learn your lessons the hard way. He has no business being in Maddie's life and he shouldn't be in this baby's life either. If you were smart you'd get him to sign his rights away and wash your hands of him." Tandy gave her two cents on the matter.

"I am not gonna make him sign his rights away. If I did that it would be a fight the likes of which we've never had before. It's not fair to blame him for the accident either. I was driving not him. He doesn't deserve to take the blame for it. If the blame can be put on anyone it's me anyway. I'm the one who caused this if I'd never lied to him about Maddie then he wouldn't have felt the need to go get drunk or if I had told him myself it would have softened the blow for him. And frankly I can see myself raisin' this baby up together under the same roof. I'm just terrified to let myself want that 'cause one of us would only find a way to destroy it again." Rayna sighed and ran her hands over her face.

Tandy reached across the counter and put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Just calm down. I am on your side here. I want whatever you want. I just happen to think the best thing for you is for you to really put some effort into this relationship with Luke. That doesn't mean that you can't give this baby the life that you want to. You can build a solid family life with Luke the way you did with Teddy. The only difference is now everything will be out in the open. It's just something that you need to give some thought to. You just said it yourself you and Deacon can't be together because you will burn each other to the ground. You may as well find another way to be happy."

Rayna laid her head down on the counter. "I can't believe that I let myself get into this position again with the same man no less. I will give what you said some thought, but that's not really fair for me to do. I lived a sham once, I don't know if I can do it again."

"The good news is that nothing has to be figured out now. Right now just focus on the baby and take the rest as it comes." Tandy advised her.

"Like I said I'll think about it. Truly what I want is for me and Deacon both to be happy. I would love if it if we could find that happiness together with our children, but if not, if he's not in my life at all I don't know how to live that way." Rayna admitted.

"And like I said don't stress yourself out. You don't have to choose Luke or Deacon you can choose yourself and your kids." Tandy pointed out to her.

"This is supposed to be a happy time for me. I don't need all this stress and uncertainty. I don't know how to not love my babies' father. I don't know that I want to not love him. I just know that right now I need to be calm and happy for this baby's sake." Rayna replied.

Before Tandy could say anything else Deacon walked in the side door with a cheery smile on his face. "Hello, hello, I come bearin' gifts for the mother of my children."

"Deacon, what the hell are you doing here? What made you think that coming here would be a good idea?" Tandy demanded of him.

The smile on his face didn't falter. "It's nice to see you too, Tandy. As I said I come bearin' gifts for the woman who is carryin' my baby." He sat a cup and two paper bags down on the table.

"Well, don't you think maybe you should go before the press gets wind of this? She can only hide this pregnancy for so long and the media is really gonna have a field day with that. It's best not to give them anymore fodder until then." Tandy stared him down.

"Tandy, it's fine, he can stay. He obviously came over to do somethin' nice for me. I ain't ever gonna turn that down." Rayna turned to smile at Deacon. "What do we have here?"

"This is a smoothie it's got a ton of vitamins in it. It's good for the baby and it tastes good. Then we have a breakfast sandwich and a doughnut. I know that you have an uncontrollable sweet tooth and you're gonna indulge it no matter how much you're not supposed to. Lastly I went out and bought you some prenatal vitamins. I don't know if you already have them, but from everythin' that I read these are the ones that you need. I wanted to bring them over for ya just in case. We already put Baby Claybourne through a car accident I don't wanna take anymore chances with our little Squirrel." Deacon pointed to each item as he spoke.

Rayna opened one of the bags and pulled out the breakfast sandwich. "Bacon, egg, and cheese, you know me too well." She undid the wrapper and took a huge bite. "So good, Baby Claybourne has such a thoughtful and carin' daddy." She spoke as she chewed.

"I see that you're really enjoyin' that." Deacon laughed a little.

"Oh my God, she acts like she was born in a barn when she's around you." Tandy rolled her eyes.

Deacon ignored her in favor of talking to Rayna. "I kinda thought we were callin' the baby the Squirrel now."

"Oh, hell no," Tandy groaned.

"Darlin', I am not callin' our baby that no matter how cute it is that you took the time to come up with that nickname for our child. I don't even know how one comes up with a nickname like that." Rayna laughed.

Deacon shrugged his shoulders. "All I can say is it was an inspired nickname. My pawpaw may or may not have called me that for a little while 'cause I was a damn good squirrel hunter back in my day."

"If that's the case then I can't even get mad at you for comin' up with a nickname like that." Rayna rewarded him with a huge smile.

Tandy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "It's hopeless trying to talk to the two of you once you get in a zone. It's like you don't notice anyone else is in the room."

"Tandy, is there somethin' that we can do for you?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"I need you two to start thinking about holding a press conference to announce this pregnancy. You can't put it off for much longer. Rayna is already starting to show and you can't hide that forever." Tandy told them bluntly.

"Yeah, I thought somethin' like that might be the case." Deacon sipped out of the coffee cup he'd brought in with him.

"Babe, I promise you that we will take care of it. It doesn't have to be taken care of right now. The minute we go out there and tell the world about it, it becomes a hell of a lot more complicated and rumors start to fly." Rayna took a break from her food to say something.

"If you wanted to you could spend the rest of your pregnancy without saying a word about it. You would just have to deal with the wild speculation and rumors flying. It's entirely up to the two of you. It's your lives and your baby." Tandy threw her hands up. She didn't know how to get through to them if they weren't willing to listen to a word she had to say.

"Tandy, I said we will take care of it and we will. Right now I am gonna relax and enjoy the breakfast that Deacon was thoughtful enough to bring me. It is all I have time for right now. I will deal with everything else later." Rayna was firm when she spoke to her sister.

"I give up. I'm done for today. Deacon, if you can get that woman to see reason than I welcome you to try. I'm going to take this opportunity to be anywhere, but in this room right now. it's early, but I will be down in the wine cellar." Tandy waved over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

Deacon put his hands in his pockets and laughed. "She's still my number one fan I see."

"She's just bein' my big sister and lookin' out for me. It's somethin' she's done since our momma died. We can't fault her for that." Rayna spoke around a mouthful of food.

He nodded his head. "I know. I just wish that she could be a little nicer to me sometimes."

Rayna paused to finish chewing. "I'm workin' on it. Besides bringin' me food what brings you by today?"

"I was actually hopin' that I can could talk to you 'bout baby furniture." He answered her.

"I think that is a great idea, but you don't have to take care of that. I can take care of the nursery here by myself." She reassured him.

"Yes, I do have to take care of this. I don't want my baby thinkin' his daddy is a deadbeat. I want to buy this." He stressed to her.

She mulled that over thoughtfully for a minute. "Ok, I will let you do that. But, you have to let me buy you a new house. Our kids are gonna spend a lot of time there and I want to make sure that they have the space and the neighborhood they need." She leveled with him.

"Rayna, I can't let you do that. I've spent all the years I've known you supportin' you and makin' sure you shine. I'm ok with that. I want our daughter and our future son or daughter to know that momma can kick ass at what she does and still be a great momma. I'm just a man in this way and I can't let you do that for me. I'm not a nobody or a hanger-on. I've made my own money and I've saved it wisely. My house and cabin are both paid off. I can afford to buy ten houses if that's what I want. If I'm gonna have a place for my kids, then I'm gonna buy it myself. I don't mean that to sound like an ass or like I'm a pig that can't let a woman be successful. This is just somethin' I have to do for my family. I don't need you to provide for us. I need to provide for Maddie and the Squirrel." He gave her a long thoughtful answer.

She smiled at him genuinely. "I can respect that. I do respect that. I'm glad that you care about me enough to want me to reflect well in our kids' eyes. I want you to know that no matter what happens between us I only want what is best for you and our children and I want y'all to be happy. I would be honored if you would at least let me help you pick out the new house you want. I know that you have your own money and don't need me, but let me help you in any way that I can. It's not gonna make you any less of a man in my eyes or our kids' eyes. Especially, not in my eyes. No matter what I will never see you as anythin' less than a man. I know what a man you are."

Deacon nodded. "Ok, if you wanna help me pick out a house and maybe pay for some of it, then I won't argue with you."

"Now that we have that settled let's do some shopping for the baby. I have a lot to show you and I think you're gonna regret doin' this with me." Rayna smirked.

"I won't ever regret doin' things for Baby Claybourne." He just shook his head and smiled.

* * *

Deacon opened his front door with a smile on his face. "Hey, baby girl, you don't have to knock this is your home too." He greeted Maddie. He was happy to be seeing her twice in one week. He looked around and was surprised when he didn't see Rayna or Teddy's cars around. He just shrugged that off though.

"I wasn't really sure how to handle it. So, I just knocked." Maddie said as she walked inside carrying her guitar case.

"Well, you don't have to knock I want you to feel at home here too. I bought this place with your momma a long time ago with the thought of startin' our family in mind. I'll get you a key made. You're welcome anytime you want." He put his arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks, Deacon," She smiled up at him.

He tried not to let it bother him that she still called him by his name and not dad. He knew they still had a lot of work to do to get that point, but it didn't make it sting any less. "What brings you by today? Not that I mind you bein' here. I'm just a little surprised that's all."

She shrugged her shoulders and sat her guitar case down in the living room. "You're my father. I wanted to spend some more time with you."

"Well, I love the sound of that. I need all the practice I can get before your baby brother or sister gets here." He sat down in the armchair.

"I kinda hope it's a girl I know what to do with a sister. Another part of me thinks it would be exciting to have a brother though." She took a seat on the couch.

"How you doin' with all that?" He asked her. He wanted to make sure that she was doing ok with all the changes in her life.

"Ok, I guess." Her eyes were downcast.

"Don't do that. Don't try to hide how you're feelin' from me. Be honest with me I can't help you if you don't tell me the truth." He leaned over with his elbows on his knees, so he could be closer to her while they talked.

Maddie threw her hands up in the air helpless. "I'm happy, but I'm also jealous, mad, and confused. I mean my whole world has been blown apart. First my parents got divorced, then I found out my dad isn't even really my dad, and now there is gonna be another baby. One who gets to have you there for everything, gets to have your last name, and doesn't have some sort of limit on the amount of time he or she gets to spend with you."

"That is normal. And you get to feel all that. Just don't shut me or your momma out. I know that you're goin' through a confusin' time anyway with bein' a teenager and havin' all this added drama on top of it makes it worse." Deacon empathized with her.

"It's just not fair. I should get to spend more time with you not just one afternoon a week. This shouldn't be so complicated. I wish I didn't feel like I was being pulled in two different directions between what I've always known and what's true." She sighed and put her face in her hands.

He got up and moved to the couch so he could hug her. "I can't do much 'bout how complicated everythin' is or make it any less confusin' for you, but I can be here and I can listen any time you need me to."

She laid her head against his chest and nodded. "I like the sound of that."

His face lit up at feeling his daughter lean on him and find comfort in him for the first time. "I'll you what with the baby comin' I am gonna need a bigger place. If you're gonna be spendin' more time with me I want, you to help me pick it out and pick your room out. I want you to know that you are always welcome and as long as I have a roof over my head you have one too."

"That could be fun." Maddie agreed with him.

"Then in that case let's do a little house huntin' before we start playin' guitar." Deacon got up to grab his laptop so they could look at houses together.

About an hour later they were having a jam session when there was another knock on the door. Deacon got up to open the door only to find an angry looking Teddy on the other side.

"Is there somethin' I can help you with?" Deacon asked him. He did his best to keep his tone civil. It was one of the hardest things he had to do. It took everything in him not to punch the other man in the face as hard as he could. Every time he looked at him all he could see was everything he had taken from him.

"I'm here to get Maddie. She's not supposed to be here. Her grades are slipping and until they come up we are putting music on the back burner." Teddy informed him. "Maddie, come on let's go."

"Maddie, you stay right where you are." Deacon held his hand up. "I understand that grades are important and I want her to do the best that she can, but you do not get to take spendin' time with me away from her. You don't get to barge in here and tell her she has to leave. This is her home too. In case it slipped your mind she is my daughter not yours. Don't push me on this, Teddy."

"Maddie, I said come on." Teddy ordered her. "Spending an hour or two with her here and there doesn't make you a father. It's being there every day for everything the big stuff and the small stuff. It was being there to walk the floor with her when she couldn't sleep. Or to kiss her skinned up knee when she was learning how to ride a bike and fell. You just contributed a little genetic material you weren't there for her life I was."

Deacon took a deep breath and ran his hand across his beard. "Who's fault is it that I wasn't there? It damn sure wasn't mine. I didn't even know she was fine until a little while ago. You don't get the upper hand with me for that. And you don't get some award for takin' what wasn't yours to take. I mean it, I ain't gonna put up with much more of this. I have rights and I will exercise 'em. This is my time to be her daddy. We have over a decade to make up for. I ain't gonna let you or nowhere else take that from us."

Maddie packed up her guitar. "Deacon, stop it's ok. I will just go." The last thing she wanted to do was make things worse between them.

"Maddie, you ain't gotta go." Deacon's voice was almost plaintive. He wasn't ready for her to leave yet. They needed the quality time together without anyone getting in the way.

"I said she does. You seem to forget that you aren't legally her father. If you want to be a father so badly wait for the one you and Rayna have on the way and don't you try to take my daughter." Teddy raged at him.

Deacon took a deep breath. "Maddie, go on and go. I will take care of this. I promise you I'm gonna make this better."

Maddie nodded her head meekly. "Ok," she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a huge hug.

"Go on, now. I will see you later. I love you so much." Deacon kissed the top of her head before sending her off with Teddy no matter how badly he didn't want to.

* * *

"Thank you for bein' here with me today. I know that this is the last thing you want to do." Rayna leaned over and whispered to Deacon. They were sitting in front of a podium getting ready to give a press conference about her pregnancy.

"This is for the good of our baby. I wouldn't be anywhere else." Deacon grumbled back.

Rayna reached under the table and slipped her hand into his. "I still know that you're not happy about it. I'm not happy about it either. If we do this now it'll save us a lot of drama."

Deacon squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Let's just get this over with."

"Hey, y'all, thanks for comin' today. I appreciate you showin' up like this on such short notice. We are gonna keep this short and sweet." Rayna began the press conference.

Deacon gave her a reassuring nod.

"I'm pregnant. That's not gonna have any effect on me making music or buildin' up my label." Rayna announced without any muss.

"And I'm the father. I think that's all we have to say for right now." Deacon took her hand and led her off the stage while reporters hurled questions at their backs.

"Great job, y'all. That was exactly what needed to happen." Bucky was waiting in the wings to praise them.

"Thanks, Buck, that should be one less thing for you to deal with. Now we don't have to bother with all that when I start showin' more than I am right now." Rayna smiled at her manager.

"It's no problem." Bucky looked down at his phone as it rang. "I better go take this." He said before he walked away.

Rayna took both of Deacon's hands in hers and smiled at him. "Thank you so much for that. I know how much you hate our private lives bein' in the spotlight."

"Like I said anythin' for Baby Claybourne." Deacon took a deep breath.

"That's what makes you such a great daddy." Rayna praised him.

"I can't be that great. I barely get to spend time with my first child without it bein' a big deal." Deacon spit out bitterly.

Rayna sighed. "I want you to know that I took care of that. I ripped Teddy a new one for that stunt he pulled the other day. I told him that I don't care how bad Maddie's grades are he doesn't get to tell her that she can't spend time with you. To start off with you and her are gettin' three days a week to spend as much time together as you want. If that goes well then we will just say y'all can spend time together whenever you want to. I just ask that you go along with the rules and what we decide for her."

Deacon arched his eyebrow in disbelief. "Ray, I will co-parent with you and do whatever I can to make this work. I however will not parent with him and let him call the shots with my daughter. I want my rights to her and I wanna be the one on her birth certificate. I don't care what has to happen to make that happen, but I ain't gonna settle for anythin' less than that. He ain't her daddy I am. It ain't fair to me or to Maddie to keep pretendin' that's not the case. I told you once that I just feel like the extra throw away parent. When it comes time for decisions to made regardin' her you don't talk to me you talk to Teddy and I'm just an afterthought. That can't happen anymore. I never want her to feel like she's any less mine than this new baby is. I need you to make it right." He was very adult and he spoke to her calmly.

"Like I said we gotta work our way up to that. I think and I'm sure you'll agree that it's best for Maddie if we ease our way into this instead of throwin' yet another change at her all at once." Rayna reasoned with him.

Deacon frowned, but he nodded his acceptance of that. "Ok, but I will only go along with that for so long. This better not be you tryin' to stall. I will work with you all I have to, but I'm only gonna do that if my concerns are heard too."

"You're right and I promise you that this isn't me tryin' to stall." Rayna put her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder.

Deacon moved his face closer to hers. "As mad as I still am at you 'bout this Maddie situation, I want it to be different with this baby. All I want is for once to raise it up together under one roof."

Rayna moved her face even closer to his. She could feel the undeniable chemistry surging between them. It was like the calm before the storm. She felt like a lightning strike was about to happen at any second. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

Deacon wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him without breaking the kiss.

Rayna pulled away after a long moment panting with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't." She whispered softly. She ran away from him as quick as her legs could carry her.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 4

"I gotta say I love it when I get to spend the mornin' with ya. It makes the whole bein' separated while I'm out tourin' thing a little more bearable." Luke smiled at Rayna over the rim of his coffee cup.

"I don't hate it either. It's a nice change of pace from all the craziness that's been goin' on in my life since I announced my pregnancy. I forgot how much of a circus it is to be pregnant and working on an album in this business." Rayna leaned forward on her elbows on the counter.

"You're the queen and you're bringin' a future member of country music royalty into the world. That's a big deal to the media." He pointed out to her.

"I know that. I just miss the times when we had more privacy. Before TMZ and other websites like it popped up. It's crazy I can't even go out to the store without someone tryin' to take my picture. It never used to be like that here." She sighed.

"It's the price we pay for the lives we lead. We gotta take the good with the bad." He pointed out to her.

"I know that too. I just don't need any added stress at the moment. I'm already pushin' it 'cause of my age and then the accident. I don't wanna do anythin' else to mess with Baby Claybourne's health." She ran her hands over her face.

"You seriously gonna give the baby his last name? I woulda thought a woman such as yourself would just buck convention and give it your name." He rubbed the back of his neck to relieve some stress.

She smiled at him patiently. "I can't do that. If I know nothin' else, I know that this is the one thing he will fight me on. This is his first child and I can't do that to him." She was still keeping Maddie's true paternity a secret from him.

"In a way I get that. I would will feel the same way in his shoes." He replied.

"For the most part he will play along with what I say, but I still have to tread carefully. We still have a lotta things to work out. I have faith that we can do that." She informed him.

He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "When do y'all find out the sex of the baby?"

"We have an appointment tomorrow. I'm very excited about it and I know he is too." She rested a hand on the swell of her belly.

"Uh, if this isn't too forward I could go with you if you wanted me to. I get that you might not want him in the room or want to do it alone. The offer is on the table." He offered.

Both of Rayna's eyebrows shot up to her forehead. "Luke, I can't do that either. I have to let him have those moments as the father of this baby. I don't wanna wave you in front of his face like a red flag. Things between me and him are difficult enough without me doin' things to provoke him. I really appreciate the offer thought."

"I just thought I'd offer and let you know that I'm here. I know that Deacon has a history of not bein' the most reliable person in the world when it comes to you." He shrugged helplessly. This was a tough situation for him to navigate, but it was worth it if he got to be with her.

"I know how Deacon used to be when he was drinkin'. Believe me I know better than anyone, but if we are gonna do this you can't say things like that 'bout him. I don't want this baby thinkin' they are less than worthy 'cause of they way their father used to be." She cradled her stomach lovingly.

"I understand," Luke nodded his head stoically.

Deacon walked in the side door without bothering to see who else was in the room. "Ok, woman, I brought your daily smoothie over and your allotment of junk food for the mornin'. I think my work here is done." He sat a cup and paper bag down on the counter.

"Thanks, Deacon, that was real sweet of you. Luke and I were just gettin' ready to do somethin' 'bout breakfast." Rayna smiled at him to temper her words.

"I should probably get goin' anyway. I just wanted to bring ya that. You need the smoothie and the doughnut is for your sweet tooth." Deacon's face fell.

"Hey, Deacon," Luke waved in his general direction.

"Luke," Deacon nodded stiffly.

"At least talk to your baby before you go." Rayna walked out from behind the counter to give him access to her belly.

Deacon bent down and kissed her belly repeatedly. "Hey, Squirrel, daddy loves you so much, but he has to go now. Momma and I will get to see you tomorrow. Try to keep your Claybourne genes in check and let us find out what you are." He straightened up and went to walk back out the door.

"Deacon, wait," Rayna chased after him. She didn't want him to go away mad and upset. That wasn't good for his sobriety and she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that ever again.

Luke sighed loudly. Keeping his temper in check around Deacon was a feat. He wanted to tell him to go away and let Rayna be happy.

Deacon stopped short in the driveway and let her catch up to him. "What do you want, Ray?"

"I don't want you to be hurt and upset, but I'm with Luke now and I need you to accept that." Rayna leveled with him.

"Rayna, it ain't my job to make havin' a relationship with another man easy on you. that one is all on you. You know that I don't understand why we can't be together and raise this baby up under the same roof. Maddie already has two men as father figures she don't need a third. And this baby don't need two. What I desperately want is a child that sees me as the most important man in his life. I don't wanna have to share that with anyone else and I don't think that makes me wrong." Deacon replied hotly. He fiddled with the sobriety chip in his pocket.

"I promise that things aren't that serious. It's just 'bout the most uncomplicated thing in my life right now and I need that." She tried explaining things to him.

He shook his head violently. "I can't even pretend to understand that. The thought of another man with his hands on you while you're carryin' my baby makes my skin crawl and it makes me wanna be sick to my stomach. I'm the only man who needs to be attendin' to those needs you have right now. This situation ain't fair to none of us in it, Luke included. We both know ain't nothin' serious ever gonna come of it. You're just stringin' both of us along for the ride. You can't look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't want to take this second chance to do things the right way and together this time 'round." He didn't hesitate to let his true feelings be known.

She slipped her hands into the pockets of her pajama pants and sighed. "I do want that. I won't lie and say that I don't. We ain't good for each other and you know it. I don't want a wildfire to start and us drag our children down with us. It ain't just 'bout us anymore and I need you to see that. I promise you that you will always be the most important man in this baby's life. I wouldn't have it any other way. And I'm doin' what I can to help build a bridge between you and Maddie. You just have to be patient with me. If it makes you feel any better I ain't done nothin' with Luke since I found out I'm pregnant. I won't disrespect you like that again and it just don't feel right to me."

"Ray, I don't wanna fight with you. I just wanna figure out how we make this work together. I know that the kids are the most important ones in this situation and that ain't lost on me. I ain't gonna apologize for wantin' that fairytale with you, though. It makes me feel a lot better that you ain't done nothin' with him and I will show you that same respect by not takin' up with another woman right now. It just wouldn't be right. I really do have to go now. I will see you tomorrow for our appointment. If you want I can come pick you up." Deacon didn't want to argue with her, not when they seemed to be getting to good place.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I'll make sure that I'm the only one in the house. I thought that maybe we could do a cute little gender reveal with the girls. Only if you're game for it though. I don't want you to think that you have no say in the way we handle things." Rayna replied. She was willing to meet him in the middle.

"I don't know what that is, but if that makes it more fun for the girls, then I'm in." Deacon agreed.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." She smiled softly.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled back at her.

"Hey, Deacon, before you go, what do you think? Boy or girl?" Rayna called after him.

"Well, from the readin' I've been doin' I think it's a boy." Deacon answered her.

"God help us, I think it's a boy too. I don't know if I just wish that 'cause I want you to have that father-son relationship or if I think it 'cause this pregnancy has just been different." Rayna took his hand and squeezed it.

"Well, we find out one way or another tomorrow. I'm just gonna be happy with a healthy baby." Deacon laced their fingers together.

"I'm lookin' forward to it. Just so you know the way you're involved right now is what I always wanted for you and Maddie." Rayna had to get that off her chest.

"I just wish you'd told me sooner. It shouldn't be this hard for me to be her daddy." Deacon replied. He kissed her hand before he got in his truck.

* * *

Rayna had one arm behind her head and with her free hand she held Deacon's. They had just finished up with her amnio test and now they were getting ready to find out the sex of the baby.

"You ok, Ray? That needle didn't look fun at all." Deacon's face was pale and it looked like he was going to be sick to his stomach.

"I'm alright. I didn't hurt as bad as it looked like it did." Rayna reassured him. She loved this caring empathetic side of him.

w"Alright, now that the not so fun part is out of the way. What do you say we find out the sex of this baby?" Dr. Ford asked.

"Yeah, I think that anythin' would be better than that needle right now." Deacon took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Here we go then. Rayna, you know the drill by now." Dr. Ford squirted some gel on her exposed belly and moved the ultrasound wand around. She froze the frame when she saw what she wanted to see. "Do you see that right there?"

"I see it." Rayna answered.

"I see somethin'. I'm not sure what I see." Deacon responded.

Dr. Ford pointed to the screen. "That's your son letting it hang out loud and proud for the whole world to see. Congratulations, it's a boy."

Rayna's eyes filled with tears. She looked up to see Deacon red faced and holding back tears. "He's a boy."

"We're havin' a son, Ray. And my God he's already beautiful." Deacon finally let his tears fall.

Rayna didn't know what came over her, but she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him down so she could kiss him deeply.

Deacon kissed her back without any hesitation.

"God help me, Deacon, I don't know what I want right now and I'm not gonna make any rash decisions. I can't with all these hormones, but in this moment I can't think of anythin' more perfect than raisin' this boy up together and bein' a real family." Rayna didn't bother to try to keep her emotions under control.

"I can't think of a thing I rather do either." His voice was barely above a whisper. He used his thumb to wipe a tear away from her cheek.

Dr. Ford cleared her throat. It was far from the first time she'd seen such a display in her exam room and it probably wouldn't be the last. "I will print these out for you and leave them at reception. I will see you both again in a month."

"Ok," Rayna started to get dressed once the doctor left the room. "So, I was thinkin' that you don't have to take me home right away. I would very much like to go shoppin' with you. I need to get a few maternity clothes and I'm real excited to start shoppin' for him. I've put it off for as long as I could, but I can't wait another moment to start buyin' him stuff now that we know he's a boy."

"I'm sure that he's gonna be the best dressed little boy in the city. Whether he likes it or not. He's probably gonna take after his daddy when it comes to shoppin' and designer clothes." Deacon teased her.

"Hush up, and take me shoppin' for our son." Rayna swatted at him playfully.

"Alright, I can do that." Deacon chuckled at her.

"So, I was thinkin' 'bout the gender reveal with the girls. I thought we could get a balloon filled with blue confetti and let 'em pop it. This is a special time for them too and I want them to see that." Rayna changed the subject abruptly.

"When do you wanna do it?" Deacon asked. He wasn't going to deny her this or anything else that she asked for. Right now it was his job to make things easy on her where he could. That was the best thing that he could do for his unborn son.

"The girls are with me come Sunday. I thought that we could do it then. Daddy and Tandy will be there of course. And I was thinkin' that we could fly in your family from Natchez." Rayna explained to him.

"I think that momma and my grandparents would love that. You know how Bev is, so I can't speak for her, but what she thinks don't matter anymore than what your daddy and sister think 'bout us havin' this baby together." Deacon was totally on board.

"Alright, I will get everythin' set up then. Right now I wanna go buy some cute outfits for our son. I'm thinkin' that newborn flannel and jeans are gonna be the most adorable things I have ever seen. I'm nervous and scared for this boy. Nervous 'cause I'm not quite sure I know what to do with a son and excited 'cause this is gonna be a new adventure for me. He's a Claybourne and I already know he's gonna keep me on my toes a lot." Rayna unloaded everything she was feeling on him.

"We can do that for sure. Newborn flannel and jeans sound perfect to me. It's only right that he comes into this world dressin' like his daddy. Who he becomes once he starts dressin' himself is another matter. I promise you right here and now that I will always love him no matter what or who he is. I do hope he's a lot like me, though. I'm real excited to have a little mini Deacon." Deacon smiled from ear to ear.

"This may come as surprise to you, but I want a little mini Deacon too. I already know that he's a little baby Deacon. He will come out lookin' just like you the way his sister did. Your genes overpower mine and there is no denyin' that. Personality wise I'm excited to see who he is more like. I really hope that he picks up on your accent. I'm not sayin' this to hurt you, but Maddie sounds a lot like Teddy when she talks and I'm lookin' forward to havin' one that sounds like a little redneck like his daddy" Rayna looped her arm through his.

"I like that sound of that too. Right now let's go pick him out some clothes. I need some at my place and you need some at yours." Deacon leaned against her. "Ray, I know that you probably don't wanna talk 'bout it right now, but that kiss, it reminded me of the old days. I'd give anythin' to have that relationship back minus me bein' a drunk. I miss the days when we were able to trust each other implicitly." Deacon replied.

"That kiss meant a lot to me too. I don't know if I can' do this with you yet, but I do know that I am keepin' my options open. I've done this wrong way once and I really, really want the chance to do it right this time. I just don't know that I want the pain that comes with us bein' together. I'm not sayin' that everythin' 'bout our relationship is horrible. I'm just sayin' that we always manage to find a way to burn each other to the ground. It just ain't fair for us to put our babies through that." Rayna tried to reason with him.

"Ray, I promise you that we will figure this out for him and Maddie." Deacon swore to her.

"I know we will. We created these two little people from a place of love and that ain't somethin' that a lot of people can say." Rayna was very content to be by his side in this moment.

"What were you thinkin' when it comes to names?" Deacon was excited to get to this part. He had given it a lot of thought.

"I was thinkin' thinkin' Jaymes Wyatt would be a perfect name for a boy." She replied.

He smiled wider. "That means you're on board with his last name bein' Claybourne. I love it, but I was thinkin' that Henry Samuel would be a great name. It would be after his great-grandfathers Deacon Samuel Claybourne and Henry John Charleston." He countered.

"We don't have to decide right now, but I like those names. I also am in love with Deacon Henry John Claybourne Jr." She batted her eyelashes at him.

He laughed at her overt act of manipulation. "We will put all those names on the list and come to a decision later. He doesn't have to have a name right this minute. I don't know how I feel 'bout namin' him after me. I don't have the best habits to pass down to him. I don't want him bein' ashamed of havin' to share a name with me too."

She took his hand. "He ain't got a damn thing to be ashamed of when it comes to his daddy. His daddy is the man he should wanna be like. He needs to think that you hung the moon and I trust you not to do anythin' that will make him see you any differently."

He squeezed her hand. "I'm glad you still feel that way 'bout me." He smiled happily.

* * *

"Deacon, move it a little more to the left. No, not like that. My left not your left." Tandy instructed him with her hands on her hips.

Deacon moved the streamer in the direction that Tandy indicated. He was decorating the house for their big gender reveal. "How's that?"

"It's good. At least you're not completely useless when someone is giving you directions." Tandy rolled her eyes. She was still in disbelief that Rayna had told him about the baby. She couldn't see how that was going to end without more heartache and tears for her sister. That was the last thing she wanted, but she had to trust that she was a grown woman and she knew what she was doing.

"Look, Tandy, I know that you don't like me and I ain't all that fond of you either. But, like it or not I am the father of your oldest niece and your unborn nephew. I ain't sayin' that we have to be best friends or anythin' like that, but right now it is important for Rayna's health and the baby's that she be under as little stress as possible. That can't happen if you and I are constantly at each other's throats. We both love Rayna and only want what's best for her. This is what's best for her right now." Deacon climbed down off the ladder he was standing on.

"If that were the case you would walk away and let her raise this baby alone. You would stop trying to push your way into Maddie's life and have her turn her back on the man who raised her. You're too damn selfish to do that, though." Tandy spit out at him hatefully.

"Tandy, I'm tryin' really hard here to be civil to you and you ain't makin' that easy on me. I will say this, you or no one else is gonna keep me away from my kids ever again. You don't get a say in if I get to be a daddy to these kids or not. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but that's how it is. You come between me and my babies at your own risk." Deacon put his foot down with her.

Before Tandy got a chance to reply Luke walked into the room. "Hey, y'all, I know that I'm early, but I didn't wanna miss anythin'. Where's Rayna?"

"She should be down here any minute." Tandy answered him. "Here she is now." She said as Rayna came into the room.

Deacon fumed silently. He couldn't believe that Luke thought it would be ok for him to show up. He already had one man trying to keep him from having a relationship with his child he didn't need another one added into the mix. He would be damned to go to hell if he allowed that to happen ever again. He would fight tooth and nail to keep it from happening.

"Luke, I'm glad that you could make it." Rayna hugged him and kissed his cheek chastely.

"I wouldn't miss this for anythin' in the world. I'm pretty excited to find out what this tadpole is gonna be. You've been keepin' me in suspense and wouldn't tell me 'fore the girls found out." Luke smiled at her and squeezed her tightly.

"What the hell is he doin' here, Ray? Today was supposed to be 'bout our family. The last time I checked that didn't include him." Deacon couldn't take it any longer. He had clearly reached his breaking point.

"Hey, now, I don't mean no harm. I know that this is your baby." Luke defended himself.

"If that's the case, then why are you here? You could've given us today." Deacon retorted.

"Well, I see that some things never change. She and this baby would have been better off if she'd never told you. I can't seem to get her to see reason when it comes to you. I don't know what kind of spell you have my daughter under, but I damn sure wish that she could find some way to break it. You're not going to do anything, but let this baby down the way that you've always let her down." Lamar made his grand entrance. He didn't mince words or make any secret of his profound dislike of Deacon.

Deacon balled his hands into fists. "I guess it's a good thing that it ain't up to you whether I get to know 'bout my baby and be a daddy or not."

Lamar went to open his mouth again, but Rayna stepped in between them and put her hand up like a traffic cop. "That is enough outta y'all. The girls are gonna be home any minute and the last thing they need to walk in on is all of you fightin' like a bunch of little boys. This is Deacon's baby and y'all need to get over that or get on board. Those are the only two choices. Like it or not you don't get a say in if he's 'round for his child or not. The only one who gets to make that decision is him. If there's any of you who can't deal with that it's best that you leave now. I don't need all of this stress and I shouldn't have to deal with all this. This should be a happy time not all this animosity. I don't wanna hear another argument on the matter. Deacon, I need to see you in the kitchen for a minute." She laid down the law with them. She grabbed Deacon by the hand and drug him into the kitchen before he had a chance to say no.

"Rayna, what the hell?" Deacon's jaw was set in a hard line.

"I could ask you the same damn thing. This right here is exactly why I'm hesitant 'bout bein' all in with you. you can't seem to get along with anyone to save your life. I know you don't like it, but sometimes you have to play nicely to make things go smoother. I need you to come to terms with the fact that daddy and Tandy are also baby Claybourne's family and I won't have you makin' him feel bad for half of who he is." Rayna whispered harshly. She didn't want anyone else to hear her chastise him.

"Ray, I can accept them if they can accept me. My problem is with Luke showin' up here. It ain't his damn place and you know it. Things are complicated enough without you addin' him into the mix. This is our baby not his. I don't want him comin' 'round actin' he's 'bout to have a brand new baby." Deacon let her have it. He made sure to keep his voice low too.

"Deacon, I couldn't find a good enough excuse as to why he couldn't come. I knew that you wouldn't like this, but I didn't do it to hurt you. The last thing I wanna do is hurt you again. We ain't over the first thing that I did to hurt you I don't need to add fresh wounds on top of the ones that have already started to scab over." Rayna sighed loudly.

Deacon bit his lip and shook his head. "You confuse the hell outta me, you know that? A couple days ago you were kissin' me like you were a drowin' woman and I was a lifejacket. Now today you're insistin' that we include Luke in what should be a private moment 'tween us and our families."

"Deacon, I know that this is difficult for you. I understand that I really do, but you can't be fightin' with everyone. I know that Tandy and daddy aren't the easiest on you and I know that you hate me bein' with Luke. I'm just askin' that you give me some time to be free and happy before I make a concrete decision. If you want me to choose a life with you then you need to prove to me that you have changed. From where I stand the way you're actin' right now this coulda been fifteen years ago and it sure as hell feels like it to me. I don't want the girls to come home to this and they will be here any minute. Today is 'bout them and makin' them feel included in this pregnancy. If you can't handle that you can go. You don't want that and neither do I, so please don't force my hand." Rayna read him the riot act.

Deacon nodded solemnly. "Ok, whatever you want, Ray. I wanna be here and ain't no one gonna ruin this for me. And I want ruin this for those two little girls. Their lives have been difficult enough lately without me addin' to it." He really couldn't refuse her anything that she asked for. He rather he be uncomfortable than have those girls feel one moment of discomfort.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 5

"Hey, I hope we aren't too late." Scarlett walked into Rayna's house with her grandma and great-grandparents.

"Girl, don't even think anythin' of it. Y'all are right on time. the girls aren't here yet and your Uncle Deacon will vouch for the fact that I'm never on time with anythin' I do." Rayna hugged her.

"She ain't wrong." Deacon chuckled softly.

June put her arms around her son. "You be nice to her. She is havin' a hard enough time carryin' your baby, son."

"I'm always nice to her, momma. She's the one who ain't always so sweet to me." Deacon hugged her back. "Where's Beverly?" he looked over his mother's shoulder to see who all had come.

"She wanted to be here, but she couldn't get off work." June covered for her daughter.

"Don't worry, Uncle Deacon, I'm gonna take a video for her, so she can see it." Scarlett assured him.

"I guess I should make some introductions." Deacon pulled away from his mother.

"Let me," Rayna stepped in for him. "Daddy, Tandy, this is Deacon's momma June, his grandpa Big Deacon, his other grandpa Henry, and his grandma Ruth."

"Lamar Wyatt, it's nice to meet you." Lamar waved at them.

"Nice to meet you too. I don't know what's wrong with you young'uns these days that you don't believe in shakin' hands." Henry grumbled.

"Daddy," June called him down. "I apologize for him. I can't take that man anywhere. It gets even worse when he's with my father-in-law."

"He has a point." Big Deacon agreed with him.

"Henry and Deacon, both y'all knock it off and behave like you know how to." Ruth laid down the law with them.

"They are fine. We know all about dealing with difficult old men around here. We have that for a daddy." Tandy pointed at Lamar. She really laid on the charm. "Can I get y'all anything to drink? Daddy, I already know what you want."

"The two old men will take a bourbon neat and the other two are good with sweet tea. I've got 'em covered." Deacon answered for them.

"Deacon, I am ok to get them some drinks. It's not a big deal." Tandy flashed him a forced smile.

"I can help." Rayna protested.

"No you can't. You ain't doin' no heavy liftin' on my watch. You're just gonna sit right down and relax and enjoy yourself." Deacon helped her sit down on the couch.

"When you say it like that it sounds like an order." Rayna teased him. She was glad that they could fall back into their easy banter no matter how strained things were between them at the moment.

"I'll just go help Tandy with those drinks." Scarlett could sense the tension in the air and she didn't want to be in the room if it exploded.

Luke came into the room from the kitchen at that moment. "I got the cake out on the counter like you asked me to. Is there anythin' else that I need to do before the girls get here?" he sat down next to Rayna and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Big Pa, I see the look in your eyes right now and you're better off not sayin' it." Deacon cautioned his grandfather.

Big Deacon just shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't gonna say anythin'. I ain't you or your daddy I know when to keep my two cents to myself."

"June, Ruth, Henry, and Big Deacon, this is Luke Wheeler, my boyfriend. Luke, this is Deacon's momma and grandparents." Rayna made the introductions.

"Boyfriend?" Henry hooked his eyebrow.

"Pawpaw, stop," Deacon spoke through clenched teeth. It was obvious that he'd gotten his temper from both the older men.

"It is very nice to meet y'all. This is one lucky little tadpole to have such a big extended family." Luke did his best to disarm the situation.

"We are callin' the baby tadpole now? I thought we were callin' it Squirrel." Big Deacon looked confused.

"We are; that's just what Luke calls the baby." Deacon explained patiently. He couldn't believe that Rayna had put him in this situation in front of his family. It made him look and feel like less of a man.

"That's right, this is one loved baby already. We may be a lot to handle at times, but we have a whole lotta love to give." June knew just what to say to pour oil on troubled waters.

"And we do love big." Ruth agreed with her daughter.

"That we do." Deacon just smiled and nodded his head.

Teddy dropped the girls off a little while later. Maddie ran straight to June and hugged her tight. "Mawmaw, you're here." She wouldn't have been so open had Luke been in the room, but he was outside on a phone call.

"I am, sweet girl. I wouldn't have missed this for anythin' in the world." June hugged her back. "Why don't you introduce me to your sister?"

"Daph, this is my mawmaw, June. My great-grandpa Big Deacon, and my great-grandpa and great grandma Henry and Ruth." Maddie made the introductions.

Daphne gave them all a shy little wave.

"Well, Miss Daphne, it is very nice to meet you." June smiled at her brightly.

"Nice to meet you too." Daphne replied. "Mom, when are we gonna find out what the baby is? You said that we couldn't know until we got home and we're here now." She asked excitedly.

"I thought you two would want a minute to get settled before we got into that." Rayna laughed heartily.

"We are excited to know what this little blob is gonna be." Maddie responded for her and her sister.

"Maddie, it ain't nice to call the baby names like that and you know it." Deacon cleared his throat to hide a chuckle.

"I'm not saying it to be mean. I'm saying it, because it's true. I saw the ultrasound picture and the thing looks like a little alien blob." Maddie retorted.

"Good lord, that girl couldn't be more like her daddy if she tried." Henry got a good laugh out of that.

"If you girls are ready we can find out the sex now." Deacon was very excited for them to find out they were having a baby brother.

"There's no right or wrong answer to this as long as it's a boy." Henry joked.

"I agree with you, Henry. I happen to think that Wyatt Henry Jaymes would be the perfect name for a boy." Lamar chimed in.

"The baby's last name is Claybourne." Deacon corrected him. He got a black balloon and handed it to Maddie. He gave them each a straight pin. "On the count of three you use those to pop the balloon." He instructed them on what to do. He'd never seen anything like it before and he thought it was a little much, but it was worth it if it got the girls excited about their baby brother.

"I'm ready to go anytime the girls are." Scarlett had her phone set to record the whole thing.

"I'm back just in time not to miss anythin'." Luke reclaimed his seat next to Rayna.

"One, two, three." Deacon and Rayna counted in unison.

Maddie and Daphne used the pins they'd been given to pop the balloon. A shower of blue confetti rained down on them.

"It's a boy!" Daphne exclaimed excitedly.

"My first great-grandson." Big Deacon's eyes teared up and the joy in his voice was obvious.

"Big Pa, this is my first grandson. I get to spoil him before you do." June teased him.

"He's my first male heir as well I have big plans for this boy." Lamar's chest puffed up with pride.

"Daddy, he still has to come into the world and get into diapers before you start making plans for him to take over the world and your company." Rayna rolled her eyes.

"Maddie, what do you think 'bout havin' a baby brother?" Deacon asked his daughter.

"I think it's gonna be fun. I mean I already have a little sister. I don't think a baby brother will be much worse." Maddie shrugged. She didn't know what more to say than that.

"You can ask my momma how havin' a younger brother works out for ya." Scarlett was careful with her words. She wasn't sure if Luke knew that Maddie was Deacon's or not.

"Oh, I will." Maddie and Bev had been instant friends.

"Rayna, you're gonna have to put this little guy on a horse at the ranch as soon as he's born. You gotta start early with him, so he ain't scared. There's a place for him to fish and he can go huntin' out there he'll love it." Luke kissed her temple.

"He's got his very own cabin where he can go fish any time he wants to. And he's got huntin' property in Mississippi and some here in Tennessee where he can go. He ain't gonna have no shortage of outdoor activities he can do with his daddy." Deacon had a friendly smile on his face, but an edge in his voice. Luke had stepped over the line big time.

"That's great, every little boy needs to be able to make those memories with his daddy." Luke spoke to cover up his embarrassment.

"I think that's the one thing you and I agree on right now." Deacon snorted.

"Have y'all thought of any names yet?" June asked.

"Not really, but we have thrown out a couple names that are a possibility. I like Wyatt Jaymes, he likes Henry Samuel, and I love Deacon Henry John Claybourne Jr." Rayna answered for the both of them.

"Those are all good names. Don't stress yourself out over this. You'll know what the perfect name for him is the minute you look at him." Ruth advised her.

"We will get it figured out. It ain't like he can go through life bein' called Baby Claybourne or Squirrel." Deacon chuckled lightly.

"We sure will." Rayna smiled up at him.

* * *

Maddie sat in the middle of her bed playing her guitar when she looked up and saw her mother standing in the doorway. "Hey, mom, what's up?"

Rayna eased herself down on the edge of the bed. "I just wanted to come see how you're feeling. I know that this has been a lot to spring on you at once."

"I'm fine. I really am. And I'm excited to be having a new baby brother." Maddie replied.

"Just so you know you can talk to me about anything. If you're having feelings about this, it's ok. I don't know how to help you if I don't know how you feel." Rayna reasoned with her.

"I just hate having to pretend in front of everyone that Deacon isn't my father. I have this whole other family that I know nothing about. I have a grandma and three great-grandparents that I want to get to know. And with everything else that's going on you're dating Luke and that doesn't leave me any room to be who I am." Maddie explained in the best way she knew how.

Rayna leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I know that it's a lot to handle and I understand that. I agree that this house is the one place you should be able to be who you are without pretending. It's just that this is your truth and I want you to have a chance to explore that without any added outside pressure. I want to make sure you know that your daddy and I love you as much as we love this baby. I know it may not seem like it 'cause he's so excited about his new son, but he loves you fiercely. He just got here and he's still trying to figure out how to be your daddy. I'm doing everything I can to help him with that. I promise that you'll have the type of relationship you really want with him soon."

Maddie rested her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her hands. "Mom, why are you dating Luke? I mean you and Deacon are having another baby together and I would have thought you would have wanted to give being a family with him a try. Or at least you would want to try to figure it out without someone else in the picture. I mean this is basically what you did to him with dad the only difference is that Deacon knows he's the father this time."

Rayna just looked at her at a loss for words. Her daughter had just vocalized everything she'd been feeling since she found out she was pregnant. "It's complicated and it's not something that even I really understand. I would love to be a family with you girls, Deacon, and the baby, but I don't know that that is in the cards for us. Deacon and I have hurt each other in ways that you shouldn't hurt the person you love. I will always love him, because he's given me two of the three most precious gifts I've ever been given. I just don't know what us bein' together and I mean truly bein' together again looks like."

"If you ask me I think you owe him a chance to give it a try and see. You never gave him a chance when it came to me and look at the situation we are in now. I think my baby brother at least deserves a shot at having the kind of home life that you gave me and Daphne for so many years. It's not really fair to Deacon to have to compete with Luke to be a dad to this baby." Maddie countered.

"You know you're pretty wise for someone your age. Your dad and I we are chaotic at times and I don't want y'all to get caught up in that. We love each other to distraction, but we aren't always good for each other. I mean look at what happened last time we tried to be together. I don't want to put y'all through anythin' like that again." Rayna didn't know what else to say to her daughter. She wasn't sure that she knew what was going on herself and she was an adult.

"Can you just promise me that you won't get really serious with Luke without giving us a chance at being a real family? Dad did that with Peggy and it didn't feel good at all." Maddie asked her.

"I can promise you that things with Luke won't go too far too soon. That is nothing for you to worry about. The ink on my divorce is barely dry. I don't need to be getting into anything too serious right now especially with me bein' hormonal and pregnant." Rayna assured her. She grabbed her phone when it rang. "This is your dad callin' to say goodnight to the baby. Do you want me to take it in here or give you some privacy?"

"You can take it in here." Maddie answered her.

Rayna answered her phone and put it on speaker. "Hey, I'm in with Maddie and you're on speaker."

"Alright, that's great. I can say goodnight to both my babies this way. Now, put me close to your belly, so I can tell my unborn baby goodnight." Deacon's voice came over the phone line.

Rayna moved the phone in front of her stomach. "Ok, say what you've gotta say."

"Goodnight, baby boy. Daddy loves you so much and he can't wait to meet you. Until then momma is gonna take good care of you. Sleep tight little man and I will talk to you again in the mornin'." Deacon made a kissing noise.

"Deacon, it is ridiculous how much you love this boy already." Rayna couldn't help laughing at how sweet he was being.

"You hush, you know you think it's cute." Deacon laughed too. "Night, Maddie, I love you too and I will see you soon for your guitar lesson."

"Night, Deacon, I love you too." Maddie replied.

Rayna kissed her daughter's head. She took her phone off speaker and put it up to her ear as she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her. "Hey, how long is your family gonna be in town?"

"They are gonna be here for a few days. I'm not sure how long yet. I know that they would really like to see Maddie again." Deacon told her.

"That's great. I was thinkin' that maybe you would like to have her for a couple days, so she can spend some time with them. I know that she has a lot of questions and she wants to get to know her family. I think that it would be good for her." Rayna replied.

"I would love that. I just don't wanna push her too far too fast. I don't know that she's ready to spend the night over here, but she is more than welcome to come over and spend as much time as she wants to." Deacon said thoughtfully.

"I will talk to her and see what she wants to do, but I know that she is really wantin' to get to know them and spend more time with them." Rayna retorted.

"I would love to have her stay over. If that's somethin' she wants I'm entirely on board." Deacon couldn't hide the happiness in his voice.

"I think she would love that too. I will talk to you in the mornin' when you come over to check on baby boy." Rayna laughed softly.

"Talk to you then, get some rest, Ray." Deacon hung up.

* * *

"Rayna, how much longer are we gonna be at this? It's been three hours already." Deacon checked his watch. He was sitting outside a fitting room waiting for her to try on maternity clothes.

"I told you that you didn't have to come with me to do this. You were the one who insisted that you needed to be here. I'm just buyin' maternity clothes. It ain't like you woulda missed much." Rayna stepped out of the dressing room wearing a designer maternity dress. "What do you think?"

"I think what I thought 'bout the last five outfits you've tried on. It looks very nice. You would look good wearin' a flour sack and you know it." Deacon grinned. "And yeah I do gotta be here. It's important for us to have these little moments together."

"Listen to you pour on the charm. You just know all the right things to say to get on my good side." She teased him lightly.

"It's a gift of mine, darlin'. You should know that by now. I've talked myself outta trouble with you more times than I count by puttin' on the charm for ya." He smirked.

"I'll tell ya what. I think that I have enough clothes for now. It'll keep me goin' for a few months. When I need more I will come back." She stopped short of saying that she would come back without him because he was more of a hindrance than a help.

"What's next?" He asked her.

"We have enough time to make it to a birthing class if you're interested in somethin' like that. Or we could go back to your place and write a single for my new album, because according to the market research none of the songs on there are commercial enough." She didn't need a birthing class she'd been through it twice before.

"I will take option two. I won't make you sit through a class that you don't need. You can show me where to stand when it comes time for him to be born." He picked up all the clothes she'd picked out and carried them to the register for her.

"I thought you might feel that way." She took her credit card out of her purse.

"Rayna, put that away. I wanna pay for this." He pulled his wallet out.

"I am not lettin' you pay for all this. I know how important it is to you to take care of this baby, but this is for me. I promise you that there will be plenty of other things for you to pay for. I ain't gonna argue 'bout this with you. You know that I am more stubborn than you are." She countered.

He put his wallet back in his pocket. "Ok, whatever you want." He knew when to leave well enough alone and let her have her way.

"That's what I thought." She shot a wink in his direction.

"If this don't bring back old memories I don't know what does." Deacon took another slice of pizza out of the box and took a huge bite.

"If you start talkin' about writin' that damn song while eatin' a triple cheeseburger I'm gonna throw somethin' at you." Rayna warned him. She too grabbed another slice of pizza.

They were sitting in his living room floor trying to come up with a single for her album. There were pizza boxes, soda cans, and paper balls littering the area.

"Hey, now, there is no need for violence. Writin' a song while eatin' that cheeseburger is one of my greatest achievements. That should tell you that I ain't done much to be proud of." He laughed.

"That ain't true. I've had the pleasure of carryin' the two things you should be the proudest of." She corrected him.

"I can't argue with ya there. We have this absolutely amazin' daughter who by the way is the light of my family's life. And I know that our son is gonna be every bit as amazin' as his sister. I just can't wait to meet him." He flashed her a genuine smile.

"How does Maddie get along with 'em?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Like she's known 'em her whole life. Momma and mawmaw really enjoy passin' down their traditions to her. And she is the apple of her granddaddies' eyes. Big Paw just loves playin' guitar with her and pawpaw taught her the special prayer that he's taught all his grandchildren. It's one of the greatest things I've ever experienced and I know that it's gonna be even more special when he gets here." The whole time he talked he was beaming with pride.

His smile was contagious and she broke out into a grin as well. "I love seein' you this way. Bein' a daddy really looks good on you. I can already see how you're gonna be with him and it makes my heart melt. I can see you sittin' in your favorite chair and playin' guitar with him layin' on your chest. I can see you walkin' 'round the neighborhood with him up on your shoulders. I can see y'all tossin' a ball 'round in the front yard. I can see you fishin' with him up at the cabin. From where I sit it seems like the sweetest sight ever."

"Where do you fit in the picture?" He arched his eyebrow. He wasn't going to give up on them being together not by a long shot. He just needed to know that he had some hope. If he at least had a glimmer of hope then it would be easier to fight for her, for them. He would be damned if he let yet another man step in and take his family from him without a fight.

"I truthfully don't know yet and I know that's not what you want to hear. 'Cause I can see myself sittin' next to you while you play guitar for him. I can see myself holdin' your hand while you carry him on your shoulders. I can see myself and the girls swimmin' and tannin' while you fish with him. But, I can also see the fights, the broken promises, and all the hurt that comes with us bein' together. I don't know that I want to put him and the girls through that." She went into a long rambling explanation.

"I think that we are in a place where we won't mess this up again or hurt each other the same way we have in the past. I think that you and I both want to raise this little boy up together under the same roof. I think that you're just scared and you're hidin' behind Luke the same way that you hid behind Teddy for years." He didn't pull any punches. He said what he thought she needed to hear.

"I just don't know, Deacon. We really haven't even addressed the fallout from you findin' out that Maddie is yours. I don't think we are in a place where we can be together. I think it would be a small mercy if we just let each other go and learn to adjust to a new normal." She shrugged her shoulders.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He was going to play his ace in the hole and hope like hell it worked. "Maybe we should try therapy." He wanted to crawl in a hole and die he minute the words left his mouth. He hated shrinks poking and prodding at him. He'd been through enough of that when he was in rehab.

"What?" She was dumbfounded. That was the last thing she thought he would ever suggest. It just wasn't his way.

"I said maybe we should go to therapy and work this out. It ain't fair to just throw what we have away without tryin' to fix it first. I ain't the same guy I was when you found out you were pregnant the first time. I ain't even the same guy I was a few months ago. We deserve a chance to be a real family." He had laid himself bare for her and he hoped that that would be enough.

She didn't say another word she just crawled across the floor to be closer to him and she took his guitar out of his hands. She straddled his lap and kissed him deeply. Her hands went to the hem of his shirt and she pulled it over his head.

"Ray, are you sure?" He asked breathlessly.

"Just shut up and go with it." She kissed him again to silence him. In that moment she wasn't about to deny herself the one thing she wanted the most. It was only fitting that he take care of her needs since it was his baby she was carrying.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 6

Rayna padded into the kitchen wearing her pajama pants and one of Deacon's old t-shirts. She was a woman on a mission. Her unborn son caused her to burn twice as many calories as either of her daughters did. She needed food and she needed it now.

She searched the cabinets and the fridge and she couldn't find a thing that she wanted to eat. She let out a loud sigh and she picked up her phone. She was going to make a call to the one person that she didn't really know how to deal with at the moment. She typed out a quick text and sat down at the counter with a sigh.

"Mom, what are you doing up?" Maddie came into the kitchen.

"Your baby brother is starvin' and I can't find a thing I want to eat in this house." Rayna replied.

Maddie grabbed a bottle of water and sat down next to her mother. "Mom, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, you can. You can ask me anythin' you know that." Rayna reassured her.

"Do you think Deacon will ever look at me the way that dad looks at Daphne? Will he ever be as proud that I'm his as he is of his unborn son?" Maddie asked.

"Oh, sweetheart, if I know one thing 'bout your daddy it's that he loves deep and hard. The only thing he needed to love you even deeper than he already did was to know you were his. He loves you fiercely 'cause you're part of me and that's multiplied by the fact you're his. You are not in competition with your baby brother for his affections. He's slow playin' this 'cause he wants you to be comfortable. If you want more from him you're gonna have to let him know. He just wants you to be ok. He may not show that in the way you want, but he does love you very much." Rayna told her.

Maddie gave her a little smile. "You really think so?"

"Oh, baby girl, I know so. Let me tell you somethin' he was born to be a daddy to a girl. He's always done his best to please me and he will do the same thing for you. Where he's gonna be unsure is when it comes to your baby brother. I will let him tell you the reason why, but he's not great with the father-son relationship thing. This baby is the answer to a prayer I prayed for him a long time ago, but you are our first baby and nothin' will ever change that." Rayna reached over and took her hand. "In case I haven't told you yet, I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you two 'bout each other sooner. You two have always had this unbreakable bond and it broke my heart 'cause I knew the truth. You're so much like him it's not even funny. I'll let you in on a little secret I love you more than I already do 'cause you're his."

"It's not ok, but I do get it I guess. I just wish I knew more about myself." Maddie tried her best to explain how she was feeling.

"I know it's not ok and I'm gonna be apologizin' to you for a long time for what I did to you. That bein' said he is your daddy and I never want you to be sorry for wantin' him or wantin' to be with him. If you want or need more time with him all you have to do is let me know and I will make that happen. Honey, that man would move heaven and earth for you. You never have to worry that he doesn't want you or want to spend time with you. You'll have to ask him to take you to his cabin just the two of you before the baby comes. It's so pretty up there and I know you'll love it." Rayna hugged her.

"Mom, why haven't I met my grandfather on his side yet?" Maddie asked.

"That's a complicated question with a complicated answer. I will tell you that he's not a nice man and leave it at that. Actually, I will tell you that he was an abusive alcoholic and if you wanna know more you will have to ask your daddy. I don't know much, 'cause he doesn't like to talk 'bout him. He will open up to you as much as he can." Rayna kissed the top of her head.

"He's so sweet. I don't know how anyone could ever be mean to him." Maddie shrugged.

"I don't know either, baby girl. You hungry?" Rayna tried to change the subject.

"Yeah, I could eat again." Maddie nodded her head enthusiastically.

"I'll do what I can 'bout that." Rayna shot off another text.

Twenty minutes later there was a knock on the side door. Rayna got up and unlocked it. "Come on in."

Deacon walked in carrying two bags full of food and a tray of drinks. "I heard that someone 'round here wanted some food. I came to deliver." He sat the food down on the counter.

"Deacon, it's a surprise to see you here." Maddie hugged her father tightly.

Deacon hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. "Your momma texted and said my babies needed food. I wasn't gonna be anywhere else in the world."

"Don't you mean your baby?" Maddie asked him.

"No I mean my babies. She told me that you were hungry too. I didn't know what you would want so I brought a little bit of everythin'." Deacon corrected her.

"Thanks," Maddie smiled up at him.

"I'm your daddy you ain't gotta thank me. This is my job. Open up those bags and dig in. Just leave the bacon cheeseburger alone that's your momma's. I should probably get goin'. I will just leave y'all to it." Deacon replied.

"No, please don't go. You just said that you bought a lot of food." Maddie begged him.

"If it's ok with your momma." Deacon looked a little unsure. He and Rayna hadn't really talked since their song writing session. She had been gone and her side of the bed had been cold when he woke up the next morning.

"Of course, you should stay and eat with us. Both your babies are happier when you're around." Rayna smiled at him.

"Well, I did get myself a bacon cheeseburger and fries too." Deacon took a seat at the counter.

Rayna started unpacking the food. "Deacon, you got me cheese fries. I'll love you forever for this in addition to lovin' you for the two babies you've given me."

"I remembered from when we were out on tour and you were pregnant with Daphne that cheese fries are your cravin' food of choice." Deacon grinned at her.

"Look at you gettin' all the daddy points." Rayna teased him a little bit.

The three of them ate in an easy silence. Deacon smiled when Maddie reached for one of vanilla milkshakes that he had bought.

"That's an interestin' choice." He commented.

"Did I do something wrong?" Maddie asked worriedly.

"No, Maddie, you did somethin' right. He's smilin' like that 'cause he brought four milkshakes in here and you took his shake of choice." Rayna explained to her.

"Vanilla is your favorite too?" Maddie was excited to find something she had in common with her father.

"It is. Vanilla is my favorite, but I won't turn down a salted caramel shake. Your momma took that one. I bought two vanillas, a chocolate and a salted caramel. I love seein' the things that you get from me, Maddie. I'm your daddy and the only things I know for a fact you got from me are your looks and your guitar playin' skills." Deacon had a shit eating grin on his face.

"So, Deacon, you don't look like mawmaw, you look like Big Pa. Does that mean we look like your dad?" Maddie asked innocently.

"Yeah, we look like him, but personality wise we are like Big Pa. I like to think that you're more Claybourne than Jaymes. We will see what the case is when it comes to your brother." Deacon laughed softly.

"Can I suggest a name for the baby?" Maddie asked.

"Sure," Deacon told her.

"Of course, you can." Rayna chimed in.

"I like Deacon Henry after Big Pa and Pawpaw." Maddie gave her two cents on the matter.

"We will put that on the list for sure." Deacon grinned like a fool.

"Oh yeah," Rayna agreed.

"Why is he smiling like that?" Maddie asked.

"He's smilin' like that 'cause his name is Deacon Henry John." Rayna explained to her.

"That is so cool." Maddie smiled and looked between her parents.

"Hey, Ray, can I talk to you a minute?" Deacon asked after Maddie had gone to bed.

"Deacon, I'm really tired and I don't feel like talkin' right now." Rayna groaned. The last thing she wanted to do was rehash the rash decision she'd made in sleeping with him again.

"That's fine you ain't gotta talk you just gotta listen. I don't know what is goin' on in that head of yours and I don't have enough time in the day to try to figure it out. I think that we need to go to therapy and I think you need to be honest with yourself 'bout what you really want. I'm not sure that you even know what you want. I just know that I deserve better than wakin' up to you gone and then barely talkin' to me for days. I am an important part of your life and you're an important part of mine weather you like it or not. We have to deal with each other for the next eighteen years and we will be linked together for the rest of our lives 'cause of these two kids. I made us an appointment for Monday I'll be there whether you are or not." Deacon told her bluntly.

"Ok I'll be there. I don't know what you think it's gonna accomplish, but I'll show up. You need to show up tomorrow. Your daughter is playin' a kids open mic thing and I know she'd love it if you were there. She just didn't know how to ask you or if she should ask you. She didn't want to do anything that was going to make things difficult or make things be called into question." Rayna replied. She couldn't really argue with him. If they couldn't figure things out themselves then maybe they needed someone to help them.

"I will be there. There is no where else on earth that I rather be. It just kills me that I can't show up there as her daddy. You promised me, Ray. You said that you were gonna find a way to work this out, so that we don't have hide the fact that I'm her father anymore. I want to be her daddy full time not just on the three days a week that you and Teddy decided I could spend time with her. As a matter of fact nothin' I do with Maddie should be decided on by Teddy. You and I should be talkin' these things over together just the two of us. Again like it or not I am her father not him. I've played nice 'bout this, but I could cause a whole lotta trouble if I wanted to. I would be well within my rights as that girl's father to take y'all to family court and establish my paternal rights and have him stripped of all his." Deacon's voice got dangerously low.

"I promise you that I am workin' on figurin' that out. I know how much it means to you and to Maddie. I know that you have a horrible temper and I hope you wouldn't do that without givin' it a lot of thought first. That would only hurt Maddie to be drug through a big messy custody battle like that. I rather we just handle this between the two of us and see what we can do. I know that you don't wanna deal with Teddy, but you're gonna have to. Whether you like it or not your daughter does love him and he is all she knows. You can't cut him out completely." Rayna tried to reason with him.

Deacon's face got red and slapped the counter. "That's exactly what you and him did to me. That was ok though. I wasn't allowed to be a daddy to my daughter and now I'm expected to jump through hoops just to get the chance to spend time with her. You know me better than anyone and you know how I get with what and who I love." His eyes were wide with anger.

"I do know what you're like. I know that when things get hard that's when you turn tail and run or go get wasted. I don't want that for her. I don't want you to commit to bein' completely in her life and then let her down." Rayna yelled at him.

"I ain't the same guy I used to be. I wouldn't do that to her. I'm very damn sorry that I did all that to you, but you can't comprehend how I feel 'bout her. All I wanna do is be for her what my father never was for me. I never want her to feel 'bout me the way I feel 'bout my daddy. I know that I fucked up by the numbers when I got shit faced wasted after I found out I'm a father. Do you realize what you not tellin' me 'bout her said to me? It said to me that you think I'm exactly like my daddy." Deacon screamed back.

Rayna grabbed on to the counter tightly and grabbed her belly in pain. "Ow, shit," She breathed heavily.

Deacon's anger melted away instantly and a look of concern came to his face. "Ray, what's wrong, baby?"

"I don't know. I'm crampin' real bad and it hurts a lot." Rayna grabbed onto his arm and squeezed it tightly.

"Ok, that's it we are goin' to the hospital right now." Deacon rushed her out to his truck.

"But the girls," Rayna protested weakly.

"Don't worry 'bout the girls Tandy is here with 'em. We need to see 'bout you and the baby." Deacon helped her into the truck. He got behind the wheel and he sped all the way to Vanderbilt hospital. He ran inside to get someone to help him get her inside.

Rayna was taken back to a private room right away. It didn't take long for the on call OBGYN to come in and take a look at her.

"Ok, first things first I wanna do an ultrasound and see if I can find out what's going on." He said.

"Please, just see if our baby is ok." Deacon begged him.

The doctor squirted the ultrasound gel on Rayna's stomach and moved the wand around. The loud _whoosh-whoosh-whoosh _of the baby's heartbeat filled the room.

Rayna was holding tightly to Deacon's hand and she breathed a huge sigh of relief. "He's still alive."

Deacon's eyes teared up. "He's there."

The OB studied the screen for a moment. "Your son is perfectly fine. I would like to do a pelvic exam and make sure that nothing is going on."

"Do what you need to do." Rayna told him.

"I can leave the room if you want me to." Deacon offered.

"No, this is your son too. He needs us both here for this." Rayna shook her head.

Deacon stayed put and laced their fingers together.

The doctor did a quick pelvic exam on Rayna. "Everything here looks good. It appears to be that this whole thing was brought on by stress. You need to keep your stress levels to the minimum. I'm going to recommend that you just relax and not do too much for the next couple of days, but other than that you are fine and your son is fine."

"Ok, we can do that." Deacon agreed readily.

"We most certainly can." Rayna seconded his sentiment.

Deacon waited for her to get dressed and then he drove her back home. "Listen, I'm really sorry that, that little fight we got into caused this. Right now it just ain't worth it. I'm more convinced now that goin' to therapy and havin' someone help us work this out is the best. I don't want anythin' to happen to our son. We can keep the schedule we have with Maddie 'til he is born if talkin' 'bout this upsets you this much. I want my daughter and my son not just my daughter. I will not put the wellbein' of one of them over that of the other. Maddie is safe and loved right now and that's all that's important. Baby Claybourne needs more TLC right now and he's gonna get it."

Rayna's eyes filled with tears. Partially from her hormones and partially from how sweet he was bein'. "You really are a perfect daddy. I'm so sorry I took away the chance for you to show me that sooner. I shoulda known that you would clean up your act the minute you found out we were havin' a baby. I promise you I will make this right." She leaned over her seat and kissed him on the mouth. She was really kicking herself for staying involved with Luke and insisting that they couldn't be together.

Despite the reservations he was feeling Deacon kissed her back like she was his lifeline. After a moment he pulled away. "You best go on in the house before this goes somewhere that it don't need to right now. I know that I wouldn't regret it if we went all the way. I don't think that in the long run you would either, but right now for whatever reason you'd beat yourself up 'bout it and use it as an excuse to keep me at arm's length. I ain't gonna give you an excuse to push me even further away than you already have. Go on and get some rest I'll see you tomorrow at this thing for Maddie." It killed him inside to stop kissing her. He wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life kissing her, but right now just wasn't the time for that.

* * *

Thanks to some heavy traffic Rayna was running late to Maddie's open mic event. She just wanted to claim her seat and enjoy her daughter's performance. Of course, she was ambushed by Peggy almost as soon as she walked through the door.

"Rayna, hey, we saved you a seat that way Maddie only has to look one place to see her family." Peggy hugged her and made kissing sounds by both her cheeks.

"That was good thinkin'." Rayna plastered a fake smile on her face. It was bad enough that she had to share her daughter with Teddy and Deacon she shouldn't have to share her with Peggy too.

"Plus, I thought it would be helpful for you in your condition if you didn't have to search for a seat." Peggy alluded to her pregnancy.

"That is really helpful." Rayna's face ached from keeping up her smile.

"I'm sure your unborn son appreciates it. He's already under stress from you starting your label." Peggy replied.

"You know that we're havin' a boy?" Rayna asked.

"Daphne told us. She's very excited about having a baby brother." Peggy informed her.

Deacon walked in with every intention of finding a seat in back and making himself as least noticeable in possible. He just wanted to be there for Maddie without any of the drama. He wanted to see his daughter play, but he didn't want to call any attention to himself.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Teddy's expression turned dark.

"Don't start, Teddy. Maddie wanted him here. I made that happen." Rayna spoke through clenched teeth.

"That makes sense they have been doing an awful lot of lessons together. She just wants her teacher to see her do well." Peggy stepped in to break the tension.

"Of course, she does." Teddy claimed his seat. He fixed a smile back on his face.

Peggy sat beside him and took his hand.

Rayna sat down with a sigh. If she could make it through this without killing anyone it would be a miracle.

"Please welcome to the stage Maddie Conrad." The MC said.

Teddy, Rayna, and Peggy all smiled and clapped.

Deacon clapped, but it felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. Maddie was his daughter, she shouldn't have another man's last name. But, he'd promised Rayna this could keep until after the baby was born. He would just have to grin and bare it until then.

"Hi my name is Maddie. The song I'm going to do I didn't write, but it is very important to me. It's called A Life That's Good. I'm not used to singing alone. Deacon can you come up here?" Maddie introduced herself.

Deacon moved from his spot at that back of the room and joined his daughter on stage.

"You remember the words right?" Maddie asked him.

"I hope so." Deacon grinned.

"Did you know about this?" Teddy whispered harshly to Rayna.

"No, I had no clue." Rayna shook her head.

Teddy sat back in his seat and silently fumed.

"I didn't realize they were so close." Peggy commented.

"Neither did I." Teddy retorted.

After Maddie's performance Deacon walked out of the building with a huge smile on his face. It felt good to be able to do that with his daughter even if no one else knew that she was his daughter.

"Deacon!" Teddy walked out after him and called his name.

Deacon turned around. "Hey, can you tell Maddie that I had to run?"

"What do you think you're doing?" Teddy demanded of him.

"What are you talkin' 'bout?" Deacon looked confused.

"I mean getting up on stage and singing with her." Teddy clarified.

Deacon sighed and rolled his eyes. "I didn't plan that. She asked me to come up and sing with her. I wasn't gonna turn her down. I don't ever wanna disappoint her."

"Let me make something clear to you right now. Rayna and I aren't interested in co-parenting with you." Teddy told him bluntly.

Deacon took a deep breath to try to keep his temper under control. "Anythin' that has to do with Maddie and me I don't have to clear with you. I am co-parentin' with Rayna not with you. She is my daughter not yours. You do not get a say in if I'm involved in her life or not. Now I'm very sorry if you don't like that, but that is the way it's gonna be from now on." He made sure to keep his voice low. He didn't want to yell something out and risk someone hearing it. He didn't want to embarrass his daughter.

Teddy grabbed him by the lapel of his jacket. "You're not her father, I am."

"Stop it right now." Maddie yelled. She had just walked out the door with Rayna and Peggy.

Deacon jerked away from him. "I'm gonna do us both a favor and I'm gonna walk away. This ain't fair to Maddie and it ain't good for my unborn baby." He walked to his truck without another word.

Rayna ushered Maddie to her car and got her inside before she dealt with Teddy. "What the hell do you think you're doin'?" She hissed at him through clenched teeth.

"I was trying to make sure that he understood the boundary lines." Teddy retorted hotly.

"Teddy, that is not the thing to do in this situation and you know it. It is only gonna make things worse on all of us, but most of all on Maddie." Cold fury flashed behind Rayna's eyes. She was doing her best to remain calm. After her scare last night, she didn't want to do anything else that would put her unborn son at risk.

"What Teddy means I think is that he doesn't want any bad influences on Maddie. I mean Deacon did just almost get you killed in that car accident. You can't blame him for not wanting her around him too much." Peggy put her nose in where it didn't belong.

"Peggy, I am doin' my very best to be civil to you, but that becomes hard when you talk about things that are none of your business and you have no clue about. I will not allow you to talk that way about my child's father and my unborn son doesn't need to hear those things either. I want him to idolize his daddy. I won't have you poison my children against him. That accident wasn't his fault he wasn't drivin' I was." Rayna tried her best to keep her cool.

"Peggy, let's just go." Teddy didn't want it to come out there on the street that he wasn't Maddie's father.

* * *

Later on that night Deacon showed up at Rayna's front door with a bouquet of tiny pink tea roses.

Rayna opened the door. "Deacon, what are you doin' here?"

"I'm here to see Maddie, please don't stand in the way of that." Deacon replied.

"Come on in. I warn you she's very upset." Rayna informed him.

"I know that's why I'm here." Deacon stepped over the threshold.

"She's up in her room." Rayna knew that she couldn't stop him from seeing her. It would only make things worse.

Deacon walked up to Maddie's room and knocked on the door softly when there was no response he opened the door. "Hey, sweet girl."

Maddie sat up on the side of her bed. "Deacon, what are you doing here?"

Deacon extended the roses to her. "I'm here to see you. I brought you somethin'."

Maddie took the roses from him. "Thank you," she looked down at the flowers in her hand.

"I didn't like how things ended today and I'm sure that you didn't either. I'm very sorry for that." Deacon apologized.

"That really sucked." Maddie admitted.

"Look, all I've done since we found out 'bout each other is be honest with you and I'm gonna keep doin' that now. I don't like Teddy and I never ever will. The way I see it he stole somethin' from the both of us that wasn't his to take. That don't mean that I can't be civil to him though. I'm tryin' my best to do that. I just don't guess he's there yet and that makes him lash out at me. I know I should be the bigger man and not take that bait, but I need you to know somethin' 'bout me. I always fight for the things that I love. There ain't nothin' more important to me than you and your baby brother. I will never back down when it comes to y'all. I will never let anyone come between the three of us. Back in the day I thought I would never love anyone more than I loved your momma, but you and Baby Claybourne, well I love y'all more than I can put into words. I can't promise you that I won't protect our relationship, but I can promise you in the future I will do my best to keep my temper in check. I am a man who protects what he loves with his life and I'm not sorry for that." Deacon swore to her.

"I understand that I guess. I just wish it didn't have to be this way." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"Me too," Deacon's voice was barely above a whisper.

Rayna had been standing out in the hall listening to the pair talk. She thought that now would be a good time for her to step in. "Hey, y'all how are things goin' in here?"

"Deacon, came to apologize and he brought flowers." Maddie mustered up a small smile.

"I see that. Let me put those in some water for you. Maddie, I'm sure that you can see he loves you very much and wants to do right by you. Don't push him away. It would be a shame if you didn't get to know him the way I do. The thing I want for you the most is for you to have the same relationship with him that your brother is gonna." Rayna took the flowers from her and kissed the top of her head.

Deacon kissed the top of her head too. "Alright, my baby, I have got to get goin'. I just wanted you to know how sorry I am and that I love you so very much and that's why I reacted the way I did."

"I love you too, Deacon." Maddie wrapped him up in a huge hug.

Rayna just watched both of them with a smile on her face. He really was a great daddy.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 7

Deacon knocked on Rayna's door early the next morning she had said that they needed to talk and he showed up like he always did. He didn't know what they had to talk about before their appointment, but he had learned long ago not to try to understand her.

Rayna opened the door. "Come on in," She led him into the sitting room where Teddy and Peggy sat waiting.

Deacon eased himself down into one of the two free chairs in the room. Incidentally it was across from Rayna's. "What's this 'bout?"

"Thank you all for coming." Rayna's accent noticeably disappeared when she was around people from her father's world. "I'll get right to the point. This whatever it is between the two of you has to stop. After what happened yesterday Maddie has said maybe it would be for the best if she didn't have a relationship with either of you."

"Rayna, you can't seriously be considering letting her go through with that. Teddy is the only dad she has ever known." Peggy was quick to jump to Teddy's defense.

"I'm sorry, but what the hell is she even doin' here? As far as I'm concerned the only person I have to answer to when it comes to our daughter is you, Ray." Deacon set his jaw in a hard line.

"Rayna, she is our daughter. You can't let her cut me out." Teddy spoke up.

"That's right, our daughter. She is mine too." Deacon argued.

Rayna held her hand up in a sign for them all to stop talking. "Teddy, Peggy, I can and will do whatever I think is best for Maddie. If she doesn't want to see Teddy, I won't force her and by law I'm not obligated to if I have his parental rights severed since she is Deacon's biological daughter. Deacon, we are all in Maddie's life and it's for the best if we can all get on the same page."

"That sounds like a great plan." Peggy said.

"Agreed," Teddy nodded his head.

"Rayna, I am very sorry, but I ain't gonna go along with that. I will not just allow myself to be pushed back into the background of my daughter's life like this extra throw away parent who doesn't matter. I will be as civil as I can, but I will not sit back and defer to you or him. What I have to say and what I want for my daughter matters too. I should get to spend time with her and if she asks me for things I should be able to give them to her. The days of you both bein' able to call the shots went out the window the minute she found that test and I found out I'm a father." Deacon did his best to keep his composure, but he was firm.

"Deacon, even you have to admit that given your past you're not the best role model now nor have you ever been. It would be the best for Maddie for things to continue the way that they always have. We can give her the home life that you can't. Rayna is her mother and Teddy and I are together. We can give her that tight family unit you can't do that. You're a single father by yourself. For the sake of things running smoothly and for the sake of all the kids it would probably be for the best for Teddy to be listed as this baby's father too that way the three of them always get to be together on the same schedule and there's not a whole week they aren't together. You could have weekly visits." Peggy proposed a plan of action.

Deacon's face turned bright red and his hands clenched into fists. He stood up from his chair so fast it looked like he'd been shot. "Excuse the fuck outta you, lady. You don't get a say when it comes to my daughter and you damn sure don't get a fuckin' say when it comes to my son. I can't do nothin' 'bout the fact that I lost time with Maddie, but I can make damn sure that I don't lose a second with my baby boy. I ain't gonna let no one else step in and play daddy to him. Anyone who even thinks 'bout tryin' is gonna get hellfire and brimstone rained down on 'em. I honestly can't believe that you just fuckin' said that you nutty fuckin' bitch." He didn't raise his voice, but it was apparent to everyone how angry he was.

"Deacon, that is enough. You will not speak to my wife that way." Teddy called him down.

"You would do well to tell your wife to keep her fuckin' big mouth shut. She had no right to say a damn thing 'bout my son. That baby is Rayna's and mine just like Maddie is. Don't none of you get a say in how much time I get to spend with 'em. Not even Rayna really gets a say in that. I'm their father and I have rights. I will go to court and get those rights enforced if this type of behavior continues. I ain't some stupid, drunk, backwoods hick who don't any better." Deacon could feel his ire rising higher by the moment.

Rayna stood up now too. "Peggy, that is way out of line. You don't bring my unborn son into this. No one, but Deacon is his daddy. It is going to stay that way. He is going to be proud to be his father's son. You or no one else is going to make him ashamed of that. This is about Maddie. Who also is not to be made to feel shame that she's Deacon's daughter. And whether anyone in this room likes it or not that is who daughter she is. Y'all better find a way to play nice with him. It's up to him if things stay the way they are now." She laid down the law.

"Deacon," Teddy extended his hand to him.

Deacon shook his hand. "Teddy," He stooped down in front of Rayna and kissed her belly. "Bubba, daddy loves you very much and he will talk to you later, but he has to go now." He straightened up. "Rayna, I am very sorry, but I have to go now. If I don't I'm gonna say or do somethin' that I regret. I ain't forgotten that two nights ago you were in the hospital from the stress of this situation and I ain't gonna put that on you or our child again. If I gotta continue to deal with that woman my famous Claybourne temper will make an appearance." He left before anything else could be said.

"Peggy, provoking him like that was very stupid. What you say to him doesn't effect you. It effects my relationship with my children. What Teddy and I did with Maddie amounts to kidnapping, fraud, and alienation of parental affection. If he took that to court he would not only get full custody of Maddie, he would get full custody of our unborn baby given what I did to him with Maddie. You need to stay in your lane from now on." Rayna seethed. She gave Teddy a look.

"Peggy, I appreciate what you were trying to do, but that was out of line." Teddy said out of obligation.

Rayna grabbed her stomach she was feeling similar pains to the ones from the other night. She took a deep breath in her nose and let it out her mouth. "Thank you,"

"Rayna, are you ok?" Teddy asked concerned.

"I'm fine. The baby just doesn't like stress. He prefers that his momma stays calm." Rayna felt the pain subside.

"We should get out of here and let you rest." Teddy grabbed Peggy's hand and led her out.

* * *

Deacon was sitting in a private waiting room when Rayna showed up.

"Hey, I'm not late am I?' Rayna sat down next to him.

"No, I haven't been here long myself." Deacon replied. He put his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.

"Hey, listen I am so sorry 'bout earlier. I promise you that no one will ever take your place in your son's eyes. I always want you to be the most important man in the world to him." Rayna too his hand and squeezed it.

Deacon laced their fingers together. "That's all I want. I've been called Freakin' Deacon, a damn drunk, and a loser. What I'm lookin' most forward to is bein' called daddy for the first time."

Rayna looked at him and she saw the raw sadness in his eyes. "Oh, babe, this is really eatin' you up isn't it? You need to be called daddy and you need to have your child have your last name?"

"Why are we even here if you can see that?" Deacon's eyes pooled with tears.

"We are here 'cause you are hell bent on doin' what's best for our kids. We're here 'cause like you I want us to find a way to put this hurt behind us and find our way forward together. I can't imagine doin' this anyway, but together." Rayna kissed his cheek.

"Does that mean you're gonna leave Luke?" Deacon asked her.

"That means I will leave Luke eventually if things work out here." Rayna replied.

"Why are you so hell bent on stayin' in a relationship with him?" Deacon asked her.

"I told you before he's easy and uncomplicated. I don't have the history with him that I do with you." Rayna answered.

"You don't have one child with him and another one on the way either. I ain't sittin' here and sayin' that us havin' another baby together is reason enough for us to give our relationship another try. If we did it for that reason it wouldn't be fair to either one of us. I think that we have to give it another try 'cause neither one of us is done with the other by a long shot. We've both made mistakes and done things to ruin this thing between us, but the way we ended the first time and last time ain't the note we are supposed to end on. I know that I messed up with you every chance I've had the opportunity to. I'm very sorry for that, but you've messed up too and then blamed it on my behavior. I hate to break it to you, baby, but I'm responsible for my actions and my actions only." Deacon retorted.

"Is there anyway that you findin' out 'bout Maddie woulda ended with you not gettin' wasted? I know you and I don't think that woulda happened. You were destined to get drunk no matter when you found out you were a father." Rayna tried to assuage some of the guilt she felt by laying the blame on him.

"Yeah, there was one way and only one way. If I'd heard from you that Maddie was my daughter then no I wouldn't have gone out and got drunk. I wouldn't have felt the need to hurt you back. I know I'm a damn drunk and I lay waste to everythin' in my path, but I didn't get drunk that night and the next day 'cause havin' a daughter is so horrible. I got drunk to hurt you back for the pain you'd caused me." He admitted.

"We both agree that I shoulda been the one to tell you 'bout Maddie. Neither one of you deserved to find out the way you did. It should have come from me. It would have been painful, but we could have worked through it. Deep down I know that you got drunk to hurt me back. When you get hurt you lash out. I lied to you and I shouldn't have. I know that I was the only person in your life that you loved that hadn't let you down or done my best to hurt you. So, you did the one thing that you knew would hurt me and that would bring you comfort in that moment. It doesn't change that fact that I almost died though. Our son could have died. I know that you weren't drivin' and the blame for that rests more on the other driver than it does either one of us. I think it spooked me. In my heart I know that you would never do anythin' that would hurt me or keep me away from our girls. I can't get my head on board with that though." She poured her heart out to him.

"I know that I did wrong and you know I like to punish myself, but even I didn't deserve to miss out on my daughter's whole life. I didn't deserve havin' to fight for a place in her life. As a matter of fact you and Teddy both make it seem like I should be grateful to y'all for doin' somethin' without my consent. If I'd chose not to be there it would be different, but I didn't get a choice. Y'all made the choice for me. Rayna, I told you once that I'd never forgive you and I won't." Deacon stated bluntly.

Rayna didn't say anything her face just fell.

"If I forgave you that would mean you did somethin' wrong. You were just protectin' our little girl. I don't agree with your methods, but I agree with the general idea. At least I'm tryin' to tell myself I do. You didn't have to let her be alone with me as long as I was drinkin', but you did have an obligation to tell me I had a daughter. You damn sure didn't have the right to give her to another man and cut me outta her life completely. You know I was so proud of her yesterday, but I was hit right in the chest with a pang of what can only be described as grief when she was introduced as Maddie Conrad. Her last name should be Claybourne and you damn well know it as well as I do. I won't have to hide bein' the Squirrel's daddy, but I have to pretend like I ain't Maddie's daddy and that fuckin' kills me. It ain't right, Ray, and you know it." He kept talking.

She took a deep breath. "Deacon, I wanted to tell you about her. There was nothin' in this world I wanted more than that. I just couldn't. when I first found out I was pregnant you were in no positon to be a father. And then after, it was just too hard. There was no good time to blow our daughter's life apart and tell her that the man she called daddy wasn't really her dad. I should have just told both of you from the get go and we wouldn't be in this mess right now." She replied.

"So, why are you so set on repeatin' the same damn mistake with our son? The only difference is this time I know 'bout him. But, you are settin' it up where Luke Wheeler will be his daddy most of the time and not me." He countered.

"I get why you would think that, but nothin' could be further from the truth. I will never let him call Luke daddy or let Luke call him his son. This is your son just the same as Maddie is your daughter." She assured him.

"That's what I'm afraid of. Him bein' my son the same way Maddie is my daughter. Meanin' I'll be on the sidelines while you and some other man get to make all the decisions for my child." He arched his eyebrow.

"I promise you that I won't let that happen. That was the last thing I wanted to do with Maddie and it is the last thing that I will let happen with our son." She swore.

He took her hand again. "That's all I want from you. That's all I need from you. I need to be his daddy and I need us to find a way for me to be Maddie's daddy publicly. I want her to be able to ask me for things and I wanna be able to give 'em to her. I want us to be able to spend time together without Teddy throwin' a fit 'bout it."

"I can make all that happen. I think Maddie needs to stay the night with you a couple days a week. I think from there we need to get your paternal rights established. It's just gonna take a minute. I don't wanna change her life that drastically that fast." She told him.

"I can live with that." He nodded his head.

The receptionist came out. "The doctor is ready for you now."

Rayna and Deacon looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"We aren't gonna need to keep that appointment after all. We were able to work the problem out for ourselves. If there's a fee to be paid I will pay it." Rayna took charge of the situation. She was glad that they were able to come to an agreement without having to drag someone from the outside into their business.

"We are sorry to have wasted your time." Deacon added.

"Don't worry about it." The receptionist gave them a smile.

"Come on, let's get outta here." Rayna took him by the hand and led him out of the office.

"I ain't gonna argue with that." Deacon replied.

"I didn't think you would." Rayna led him back to the truck.

"So, what now?" Deacon asked as he helped her up into his truck.

"Now, we go back to your place and we spend some time together before you and Maddie have to spend some time together." Rayna answered him.

"I ain't gonna argue with that either." Deacon leaned over the bench seat and kissed her deeply. They both knew that they weren't going back to his place to talk.

Rayna leaned against Deacon's side as they both sat on the couch. She was wearing nothing, but one of his flannel shirts. "That was a much more fun way to spend my afternoon than on a couch in therapy."

"I have to agree with you there. What are you gonna tell Wheeler?" Deacon questioned her.

"I'm not gonna tell him a damn thing. What went on here today is none of his damn business. I'm only datin' him and it's nothin' serious. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but he's my fail safe. What I truly want is for things to work out with you and for us to raise this baby boy up together the way we should have with Maddie. If things go the way I want them to he ain't gonna be nothin', but a rebound from Teddy. The way I feel today as far as I'm concerned you're the one I'm supposed to end up with and be a family with. You will always be my family no matter what anyway. I rather the family we make be with you by my side." Rayna answered him.

Deacon took a deep shuddering breath. "That's all I want, but I just don't know why you're holdin' on to Luke so tightly. He ain't never gonna give you what you want or what you need. I'm the only man who has ever been able to do that."

"Darlin', I don't know what to say to you. You have to understand that I'm scared of all the pain we've caused each other and that's why I'm so hesitant 'bout movin' forward together as a family. I can't take a chance that you'll fail our children the way that you've failed me. In my heart I know that you would never do that to them, but in my head I'm not so sure. I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's the way things stand right now." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess, there ain't much I can say to that." Deacon shrugged to. He didn't know what to say to her to magically make things better.

* * *

"Hey, mom," Maddie walked into the kitchen while her mother was searching for a late night snack.

"What do you need, sweet girl? This baby boy has my starvin' and I'm gonna have to order out to get what he wants." Rayna turned to face her daughter.

"So, there's this father-daughter dance at the country club that is affiliated with school and I was hoping that Deacon would be able to take me. I mentioned it to him and he said that I needed to ask you."

Rayna scrubbed her hands over her face. "Maddie, I know that you want to be with your daddy and get to know him. I also know that you have really found yourself around your family from Mississippi, but that would present a lot of problems if he took you to that dance. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you need to go to that dance with Teddy if you wanna go so badly."

"Mom, that's not fair. Deacon is my dad and I shouldn't have to hide that from the world. I'm sick of pretending that Teddy is my real dad and nothing has changed." Maddie groaned.

"Honey, I know that it's not fair, but that's the way things are right now. I know that there is nothin' that Deacon would love more than gettin' to take you to that dance, but it just can't be right now. You both need to give me more time to figure out how this is all gonna work out. Believe me there is nothin' I want more than for him to be able to take you. I want him to be intensely involved with both his children, but that's gonna invite scrutiny into our lives that none of us want." Rayna did her best to explain the situation to her daughter.

Maddie crossed her arms over her chest and frowned deeply. "It's not fair. I find out that he's my father and then I'm not allowed to get to know him or want to be a part of his life. If I can't go to that dance with him then I'm not gonna go at all. You can't make me and I don't want Teddy to try to pressure me into it. I want to go with my father, mom."

Rayna shook her head. "I hate that term real father. Teddy has been there your whole life and he loves you deeply. There is no difference in how he feels 'bout you and how he feels 'bout Daphne. I just don't want you to shut him out. Yeah, he agreed to go along with the situation, but it's not fair that he has to lose you, 'cause you found out the truth. It was never a game to him."

"Rayna, don't you try to tell her how she should feel or guilt her into somethin'. She gets to feel however she wants or needs to feel without either of us tellin' her it's right or wrong." Deacon walked in the side door. He had brought her food, because he knew her pregnancy cravings were out of control.

Maddie arched her eyebrow at her mother. The look on her face was defiant. "Deacon, there's a father-daughter dance at the country club and I want you to take me. I don't care what anyone else thinks."

Deacon bit his lip and looked between the woman he loved and his daughter. "Maddie, more than anythin' I want to take you, but I can't. I can't, however find somethin' for us to do together that night. If that's somethin' you would be interested in you let me know. I'm here to do whatever makes you feel better." He sat Rayna's food down on the counter.

"You mean it? We can really do something special to us the night of the dance?" Maddie asked him.

"I'm as serious as a heart attack." Deacon reassured her.

"Ok, if you mean it then I will let you arrange something for us." Maddie agreed.

"That sounds like a great compromise." Rayna looked between the two of them and smiled.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope y'all enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 8

Deacon knocked on the door of Rayna's house. He was dressed in his usual motif of flannel and boots. He was there to pick up Maddie for their prearranged date.

"Well, look how handsome you are right now. You went and cleaned up better for our daughter than you ever have for me." Rayna opened the door and sheared some teasing banter with him.

"What can I say? She deserves a little bit more effort. She is the most important woman in my life after all." Deacon didn't bother to hide the smirk on his face.

"The most important woman in your life will be right down. She is really nervous about tonight and has changed outfits four times. I finally had to tell her that fashion isn't somethin' that you care 'bout and you'll love her no matter what she wears. What's your plan for the night?" Rayna knew without a doubt that he wouldn't do anything to hurt their daughter. She was just nervous and being overprotective was the way she let that show.

"I'm takin' her to the Ryman for an Opry show and then after that I'm gonna take her to the Bluebird. I figure that she will love all that and I can get her fed and back home at a reasonable hour." Deacon replied as he slipped his hands in his back pockets.

"You're a damn good daddy. You knew just what she would want to do without me tellin' you. I love that you get her better than anyone else in this world. I will be apologizin' to you for this for a long time, but I'm sorry that I never told you she's yours. The way you two just blend together as one with a lot of the things you think and feel amazes me. I know that if I'd given you the chance before now she would have been a daddy's girl and I hope beyond all hope that the one is my belly is a daddy's boy." She cupped his cheek with her hand.

"I hope he is too. I can think of nothin' more that I'd like better than that." He agreed with her.

"Hi, Deacon, I'm so glad that you're finally here." Maddie came down and greeted her father before her parents could say another word to each other. She was wearing a red sundress and brown boots that went up to her ankles.

"Look at you, you are gorgeous, baby girl. I'm gettin' the best lookin' girl in town on my arm tonight." Deacon smiled and handed her the bouquet of daisies that he'd brought with him.

Maddie smiled and accepted the flowers from him. "Thank you," she handed them to her mother. "I highly doubt that you think I'm the prettiest girl in town. I think you think that's someone else." She looked Rayna up and down.

Rayna blushed. "That's enough of that outta you." She teased her lightly. Part of her couldn't deny that the thought of being the woman who Deacon always thought of as the prettiest woman in the world appealed to her. If the way he'd worshipped her body after their missed therapy appointment was any indication, then he still thought of her that way and he always would. She knew that they had to stop falling into bed together, but it was part of what they did best and she wasn't ready to shut that down no matter how much she knew she should.

"I will always think that your momma is the prettiest woman in the world and I'm not gonna deny that. Nothin' will ever change my mind 'bout that. We ain't talkin' 'bout that now, though. Right now I need to know if you're ready for a night out on the town with your daddy. You ain't ever experienced what I mean by those words." Deacon spoke up. He could see that Rayna was uncomfortable and didn't know what to say to their daughter.

"I know that neither of you want to hear this, but I hope someday a boy feels that way about me." Maddie made an uncomfortable situation even worse. "Deacon, where are we going tonight?" She changed the subject like she hadn't said anything.

"Lord, girl," Rayna laughed and shook her head at her. For as much as she looked like Deacon she was all her in attitude in some ways.

"I just got here don't you go growin' up on me too fast. I don't wanna miss anythin' else." Deacon cautioned her.

"You didn't tell me where we are going yet." Maddie batted her eyelashes at him.

"First we are gonna go get some food at one of my favorite diners. The rest of the night is a surprise for right now. I hope you can handle that." Deacon put his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, I can handle that." Maddie didn't back down from the dare in his voice.

"Alright, baby girl, come give me some sugar before you go. I hope you have the best night with your daddy." Rayna opened her arms to her little girl.

Maddie went directly into her arms and gave her a huge hug. "I love you, mom. I hope you don't get too bored tonight."

"I won't. Your baby brother and I have huge plans for the night. I'm about to order some takeout and go park myself on the couch with a couple of movies." Rayna kissed her daughter's cheek and rubbed her growing baby bump.

Deacon put his arm around Maddie's shoulders. "Me and this one are gonna take off. I will have her back at a decent hour."

"That sounds good to me. Y'all have so much fun tonight. There is no rush in you gettin' her back." Rayna smiled at him.

He smiled back at her. "We will," He led Maddie out to his truck.

* * *

"Deacon, is it ok if we go into the record store?" Maddie asked as they walked out of the Ryman.

"We have reservations at the Bluebird, but yeah we have some time to go to the record store. I'll take you to my favorite one. I'm sure that between the two of us we can find a thing or two to buy." Deacon put his arm around her shoulders and walked with her. It was easier to leave his truck where it was and come back after they got done at the record store.

"You don't have to buy me anything. Tonight has already been so amazing." Maddie leaned against his side.

"I want to buy you things, Maddie. You're my baby girl. I wanna give you and your baby brother the world. I'm glad that you enjoyed the show at the Ryman. I know that you've been there before, but I wanted you to experience an Opry show where it started." He replied.

"The Squirrel and I are very lucky to have you as a dad. I'm glad that we got to do that together too." She smiled up at him.

"So, tell me what's new with you? How are you doin'?" He asked. He genuinely wanted to know what was going on in her life.

"Nothing much. School is boring about the only thing I have going for me that I enjoy is guitar lessons with you. Really the only time I'm happy right now is when I'm with you. Teddy is suffocating me trying to hold on to me and not letting me do what makes me happy. And Luke is around the house with mom every time I turn around. The guy won't go away. He acts like he's the one about to have a baby with mom and I hate it." She opened up to him. She felt comfortable with him and like she could tell him anything without being judged.

He took a deep breath to keep himself from saying the first thing that came to his mind. That wouldn't be helpful to her at all. "Spendin' time with you is the best part of my life right now. Teddy he loves you even I can't deny that. He's scared of losin' you and I think he's lashin' out because of that. He wants what's best for you just like your momma and I do, but I think he just wants to feel like he has some sort of control still. As for Luke I don't like him anymore than you do, but I think we just need to let your momma work through whatever it is she's doin' with him right now."

"I love that I can say whatever I want to say to you and you don't judge me for it or try to tell me how I should feel. You just try to help me make sense of what I'm feeling and you really hear what I have to say without treating me like a baby." She smiled again.

"First of all I am your daddy and it is my job to listen to you and make you feel heard. I want you to always feel like you can tell me anythin' and know that I will always be here to support you and that I will love you no matter what it is you say to me. I want you to think of me as your walkin' talkin' journal. What you say to me stays between us unless I think that there is reason for concern and then I will tell your momma. It's our job as your momma and daddy to make this easy on you. I want you to know that I'm your biggest supporter and I will always be here for you. I'll make you a deal right here and now. You tell me the truth, so I can lie for you. It does not matter what you do I will always, always have your back." He spoke to her from the heart.

Her eyes filled up with tears. "Wow, no one has ever said anything to me like that before. No one has ever taken my feelings into account that way. I may actually cry. Mom and Teddy have always said how much they love us, but I've never felt it the way I did just now."

He looked down at her and his eyes had tears in them too. "I think I might cry too. I know that your momma she loves you in the exact same way. If she didn't she wouldn't have protected you from the way that I used to be. I don't ever want you to doubt that she loves you as fiercely as I do."

She buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I love you so much, daddy."

His breath caught in his throat he didn't know how that was going to hit him before he heard it. His throat constricted and a tear rolled down his cheek. He kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much too, Maddie May."

She laughed softly. "You haven't called me that since I was little and you'd play with me on the tour bus."

He put his fingers under her chin and tilted her head up so he could look her in the eyes. "You'll always be my Maddie May. I know that we are both mad at your momma for not tellin' us, but she did give us those little moments together out on tour. I think you could sense who I was to you and that's why you've always been so comfortable with me."

"Come on, let's go start Squirrel's album collection. I want him to have the best ones." She took his hand and drug him to the record store.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'. You don't have to drag me." He laughed happily.

* * *

Maddie knocked on the kitchen door to be let into the house. She was holding two bags of food and a drink tray.

Daphne opened the door for her sister. She had just gotten back from the father-daughter dance with Teddy. "Maddie, there you are."

"Yeah, I have food. He bought a lot." Maddie walked in and set the food down on the kitchen counter.

"A little overboard is an understatement. I think he ordered the whole damn menu." Rayna started to sort through the bags. "Where is Deacon?"

"He's coming," Maddie replied.

Deacon came in carrying a changing table that was still in the box.

"What is this?" Rayna asked him.

"Maddie and I were out and we found this really cool changing table and we thought that Squirrel should have it." Deacon replied.

"I love it. I just hope you know that you're gonna have to take a day out of your schedule to come over and put that thing together for me." Rayna smiled at him.

"I'm well aware of that. I thought that I could put these two little girls to work helpin' me with that." Deacon grinned.

"Well, this is for their baby brother. I think it's only right that they help with that." Rayna winked at the three of them.

"I couldn't agree more." Deacon winked back at her.

"Mom, it's so awesome while Deacon and I were out we got some stuff for Squirrel." Maddie gushed.

"You can show me in a minute. Your dad is here you should at least say hi." Rayna spoke up before Maddie could say anything that would hurt Teddy.

Teddy came out of the bathroom at that moment. "Maddie, there you are. You missed a really good time at the club. I hope you had fun tonight."

"I had a really great time tonight." Maddie beamed.

"That's good," Teddy looked around and he saw that Deacon was there. "Well, I better get going."

"Teddy, it's up to Rayna, but as far as I'm concerned you're more than welcome to stay. I have plenty of food here." Deacon extended an olive branch.

"Oh, I should really get going." Teddy tried to make his excuses.

"You ain't gotta run off on account of me." Deacon reassured him.

"Hey, why don't you girls go wash up for food?" Rayna sent her girls out of the room.

The girls scurried off to wash their hands.

"Teddy, I think you should stay at least for a minute. These girls of ours need it right now." Rayna spoke up.

"Maddie feels like you're holdin' on to her too tightly and like you don't want her to be happy, Teddy. I did my absolute best to diffuse the situation, but I don't know if it worked. All I want in this world is that little girl's happiness. I don't like you and you don't like me, but she loves both of us. I think a late night junk food session with the family would be great for Maddie and Daphne." Deacon added.

Teddy took a deep breath. "When you put it like that I can't argue with it. I only want Maddie to be happy to and I want her to see that."

Rayna smiled and bumped her hip against Deacon's. "Wow, this little girl and little boy are so lucky to have you for a daddy. Daphne has a damn good daddy too. I'm very lucky to have had babies with two great men."

"You now when he says things like he just said it makes it so much harder to keep hating him." Teddy took his coat off and put it on the back of the chair.

"Neither of you may like it, but you share a daughter. You have to at least be civil for her sake." Rayna looked in between both of them.

"I offered the man food. I don't know what more you want me to do than that. That's how men from the deep south extend an olive branch." Deacon chuckled.

"And I didn't say one thing about her choosing to go out with him tonight rather than to the club with me and Daphne." Teddy pointed out.

Rayna just laughed and rubbed her belly. "Squirrel, you are the only man in my life who doesn't drive me crazy. You just keep bein' that easy on your momma."

"He's a Claybourne. I doubt that he's gonna be that easy on us." Deacon chuckled.

Teddy cleared his throat. He could clearly see the chemistry between his ex and the man she'd loved throughout their marriage. "Have you two thought of any names yet?"

"Henry, Deacon, and Samuel are all on the table. We are also thinking of naming him Jaymes Wyatt." Rayna answered.

"She's thinkin' Jaymes Wyatt anyway. When I hear that name I think of a preppy little kid that will get his ass kicked on the playground." Deacon really didn't want to name his son that.

"Well, if my opinion counts for anything I think you need to have Henry somewhere in his name. you're both country music stars." Teddy gave his opinion on the matter.

"I really want to name his after his daddy, but I want the girls to have some input in it." Rayna told him.

"If he's named after me Henry would be in his name. I just don't know that I wanna saddle him with that. I've already passed down my genes to him and Maddie I don't wanna make that worse." Deacon found that he was just being open and vulnerable tonight.

"For what it's worth we aren't our father's if we were then I would be a messy, embarrassing drunk." Teddy let himself open up.

"Me too. What did your daddy like?" Deacon asked.

"Mine was a scotch man." Teddy answered him.

"Mine didn't like scotch. He liked bourbon." Deacon just shrugged.

"I like to think that we've both proven that the sins of the father don't have to be paid for by the tears of the son. The way you love Maddie and the way you already love this baby they will be just fine." Teddy reassured him.

Deacon bit his lip. "Teddy, look, we don't like each other at all and that is ok, but we have to find a way to make this alright for Maddie. Not just for Maddie, but for Daphne too. We can't keep bein' at each other's throats. You ain't gonna lose Maddie she will love you and I ain't gonna take her away from you. I just want time with my daughter for me to be her daddy. I got here late and I got lost time to make up for. I won't think you for steppin' into my place when it wasn't your place to, but I will thank you for lovin' her so much. That said you can't be tryin' to take her music from her, I will make sure she stays after her studies, but she needs this like she needs the air she breathes."

Teddy nodded now. "I can agree to that. She doesn't have to be Ivy League material she just has to do her best. I would like her to go to college, but I can see how much she wants this even if she thinks I'm against it."

Deacon laced his fingers together. "Father to father she's a lot like her momma was at that age. If you push her and make her think you don't support her you will lose her just as soon as she is able to spread her wings and fly. She will dive head first into the music business and never look back. I'm tryin' here, Teddy. I just need you to not crush her dreams. This is as important to her as you think school is. None of us get to be dismissive of her hopes and dreams. We are supposed to be her biggest supporters. I told her tonight all she has to do is tell me the truth, so I can lie for her."

Rayna fanned her hand in front of her face to fight off the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "Teddy, he's right. I've never heard it worded as beautifully as that before, but it's spot on. Do you think you can be on board with that?"

"Yeah, I can." Teddy agreed.

Deacon bent down and kissed Rayna's belly. "Squirrel, you go easy on your momma. She don't need to be cryin' every time I talk."

The girls rushed back into the room before any of them could speak again. They chose to dig into the food rather than engage in anymore conversation.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 9

Deacon opened the door to Rayna's house and then he carried in the rocking chair she'd wanted for the baby. "Ray! You here?" He called out.

Rayna walked into view. "You got the rocking chair I asked for?" A huge smile broke out on her face.

"I got the rockin' chair you asked for. I didn't even have to call and you to make sure I got the right one. It probably helps my case that Maddie took a picture of the right one and sent it to me." Deacon laughed.

"At least you're learning." Rayna teased him.

"Yeah, I got tired of goin' back to the baby store multiple times to get the right thing. I swear they know me on sight now and they shake their heads when they see me comin'." Deacon replied. "I better go upstairs and add this to the collection of things that I need to put together."

"They have to see dollar signs in their eyes when you walk through he door." Rayna bumped her hip against his.

"Nothin', but the best for my boy." Deacon smirked.

"If that was the case you woulda paid to have all the stuff you've bought him delivered and installed." Rayna shot him a saucy wink.

Deacon scoffed playfully. "You wait right here while I take this upstairs. I will deal with your mean mouthed ass when I get back." He couldn't resist the urge to swat her ass on his way up the stairs.

"Deacon Henry John!" Rayna yelled after him, but there was a huge grin on her face. She liked it when he put his hands on her like that.

"I've got more of the same comin' for ya when I get back down there." Deacon yelled back at her. By the time he put the rocking chair in the nursery and made it back down the kitchen the entire mood between him and Rayna had changed.

Luke was there now with his arms around Rayna. "Hey, Deacon, it seems like you're here every time I am."

"I was droppin' off some stuff for the baby and I'm gonna go now." Every muscle in Deacon's body went rigid. The last thing he wanted was to have to compete with yet another man for the title of most important man in his child's life.

"Nah, you shouldn't go on my account. I was just stoppin' by to say hi to this one. I have somewhere else I need to be." Luke replied. He couldn't stand the thought that this guy was always going to be such a big part of Rayna's life and by extension his life if he chose to stay with her. He pressed a possessive, but chaste kiss to Rayna's lips. "I will be seein' you later."

"Yeah, I'll see you later." Rayna walked him to the door. "Deacon, I hope that you're not gonna run off already without talkin' to your son."

Deacon smiled and bit his lip. "I wouldn't dream of it." He leaned over and kissed her belly. "Hey, Squirrel, daddy loves you so, so much."

"So, hey, I was thinkin' that we could do a family dinner together. Scarlett is in town right now. And I know that the girls would enjoy havin' you both over here." Rayna told him.

"Yeah, we can do that for sure. You just name the time and the place." Deacon couldn't refuse her anything that she wanted.

"Here tomorrow night. You don't have to bring anythin'." Rayna set the terms.

"You know I'm gonna bring somethin'. You better tell me what kind of dessert you want." Deacon got up in her personal space and pressed his hips against hers.

She grabbed his belt loops and pressed up against him. "I want you upstairs right now." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"I ain't gonna say no to that." He swung her up into his arms and carried her up to her bedroom. He knew that he should turn her down and make her make a choice between him and Luke, but he just couldn't tell her no even when he knew he should.

* * *

"Come on in and make yourselves at home, y'all!" Rayna called when she heard the side door open. She was standing at the stove with an apron on that barely hid the swell of her belly. Her hair was thrown up in a bun and she had flour on her cheeks.

Deacon sat a pie down on the counter and laughed. "What in the world is all this, woman?"

"I thought that it would be nice to have good old fashion southern meal for dinner. I called you momma and she gave me her fried chicken recipe and her biscuit recipe, but it is not as easy as she made it sound." Rayna used the back of her hand to wipe the sweat from her brow.

"Scarlett, we have a kitchen emergency here. Go get the girls. I think it's past time that they learn your mawmaw's fried chicken recipe." Deacon grabbed an apron and threw in on over his flannel shirt.

"I will go get 'em." Scarlett headed up the stairs to retrieve the girls.

"Alright, let's see what you've got goin' on here." Deacon stepped up to the stove to help out.

"I think I've got a damn mess here." Rayna told him.

"No worries, we will get this figured out." Deacon assured her.

Once the girls came down with Scarlett, Deacon did a pretty impressive job of teaching them all how to make fried chicken and homemade biscuits. They had a good time laughing and signing while they cooked. They ate together at the table like a real family. After dinner Deacon and Rayna sent the three girls into the other room to play music while they cleaned up.

"Listen, I have somethin' that I wanna run by you and see what you think." Rayna broached the idea that had been brewing in her head for awhile.

"Shoot, you know that you can tell me anythin' at all." Deacon reassured her with a smile.

"I put some feelers out I know that the record deal they are offerin' you isn't great at all. And they want you to do things that just ain't you. I was thinkin' that you could back out of the contract and come make music at Highway Sixty-five." Rayna bit her lip unsure after she spoke.

"Ray, I told you once already that I won't take your charity. I need to be a man in our children's eyes and I can't do that if I'm lettin' you take care of me without givin' somethin' back in return." Deacon sighed.

"This isn't charity. You would be doin' me a huge favor. Scarlett is tremendously talented and we both know it, but she is an unknown quantity right now and I'm the only viable artist we have. If you signed on to the label then there would be another artist puttin' out music right away. I know you have more songs stored up than anyone should." Rayna replied.

Deacon ran his hands over his face and collected his thoughts before he replied. "I think I have a better idea. Everythin' I have I own free and clear. I don't have many expenses and I've sold a lot of songs in my day. I've got a very healthy nest egg built up. What would two million dollars get me?"

"Two million dollars would get you an office and head of A and R." Rayna answered him without hesitation.

"That's the only way I'll trash this Belcourt contract and come work with you. I can't work for you, Ray, but I can work with ya. If we can do that I would be more than happy to come aboard." Deacon held out his hand for her to shake.

"If you sure you can afford it." Rayna didn't feel right just taking his money like that, but she knew that he had a lot saved up for a rainy day.

"I can't afford not to do it. I could keep my dignity and not sell out to Belcourt." Deacon assured her.

Rayna was going to shake his hand, but she put her hand on her belly instead. A smile lit her face. "I think I'm not the only one who thinks this is a great idea."

"What do you mean?" Deacon didn't get what she was talking about.

Rayna took his hand and put it on her belly. He knew the minute he felt their unborn son kick by the look on his face. "I think Squirrel likes the idea of this bein' the family business."

Deacon wore an awestruck look on his face and he put his other hand on the other side of her belly. "That's him?"

Rayna smiled and nodded. "That's him. Your boy is kickin' for you, daddy." She put her hands on top of his on her belly.

"That is the most incredible thing I've ever felt in my life." Deacon's eyes glazed over with tears. He'd never felt more like a man than he did in this moment.

"I'm glad you were here to feel it for the first time. That makes it so much more special to me." Rayna used her thumb to wipe a tear off his face.

They stood there like that for a moment just staring into each other's eyes.

"Well, isn't this cozy?" Luke materialized in the kitchen seemingly out of thin air.

"Every damn time I'm here." Deacon grumbled. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't bother to take his hands off her belly.

"Deacon and Scarlett came over for dinner and we were just cleanin' up. The baby just kicked for the first time and it's his first baby I wanted him to feel it." Rayna explained quickly.

"So, you were havin' some nice family time." Luke sneered.

Rayna pulled away from Deacon. "Can you give us a minute? Go in the music room and keep the girls occupied." She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I can do that." Deacon threw a glare at Luke before he left the room.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" Luke demanded once he was gone.

"What's goin' on here is I was havin' dinner with the father of my unborn child and his niece and my girls. I didn't do a damn thing wrong. Like it or not we are a family. I told you when I told you I was pregnant to walk away if you couldn't handle it." Rayna wasn't about to let him get away with having a temper tantrum.

"It's just you go outta the way to do things with Deacon and his family, but you want nothin' to do with mine." Luke retorted.

"I just played Monopoly with Colt and Sage last week. The last thing I need right now is you puttin' a ton of stress on me. I ain't gonna have it. If you can't handle this walk away now." Rayna didn't back down from him.

"I need a minute." Luke turned around and walked out the door.

Rayna sighed this fun uncomplicated thing was turning into something she was losing control of and she didn't know why she was still trying to hold on to it.

* * *

"Deacon, thank you for showing up on time. My baby sister doesn't always share the same sentiments." Tandy greeted Deacon.

Deacon took a seat at the dining room table where they were holding a business meeting. "My aim is to please. And believe me I know all 'bout your sister never bein' on time."

"Hey, that'll be enough outta you two. I try to be on time and I am on time when it counts. Right now I have a baby boy layin' on my bladder who doesn't always like to cooperate with me bein' on time." Rayna frowned at both of them.

"Moving on. Deacon, do you have a plan to get something out and get a little bit of cash coming into the label? The two-million-dollar check helped a lot, but we need more." Tandy didn't beat around the bush.

"I had a wild idea and I want the two of you to stay with me for a minute here. I was thinkin' that I could record a live show at the Bluebird and press it on vinyl." Deacon laid his idea out for them.

Rayna smiled at him. "I really love that idea."

"That idea is perfect. I didn't know you had it in you to come up something that good, Deacon. I did some research and people are going crazy for actual vinyl albums again. It's a fast growing market and it's a great idea for us to get in on it." Tandy spoke up.

"I will get it all set up then. I want to get this done as soon as possible and do whatever I can to help the label." Deacon nodded his head.

"I told you that him comin' on the label would be a good idea." Rayna gloated smugly.

"When you're right you're right. I don't always like him, but he is damn good at the music business." Tandy shrugged her shoulders. "Deacon, that's the closest thing to a compliment you're ever gonna get from me you better enjoy it."

"I don't need you to like me for us to work together. I know you don't like me and I ain't so fond of you either. Like it or not, Tandy, we are family. I'm the father of your oldest niece and your unborn nephew. We ain't always gotta like each other we just always have to have each other's backs." Deacon retorted.

Tandy wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Her mouth just hung open.

"Babe, I believe that's the first time I've ever seen someone leave her speechless. I shoulda thought to bring you on a long time ago." Rayna laughed happily.

"I have my moments, Ray, you know that better than anyone." Deacon smirked.

"I do so enjoy some of the moments you have." Rayna winked at him.

"Ok, you two don't do the gross flirting thing you do in front of me. It's just plain nasty." Tandy shook her head. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve the two of them, but she wished she did, so she could apologize for it.

"Do you have a set list planned for this album yet?" Rayna asked him like her sister hadn't said anything.

"I do. I just need a producer and to book a night at the Bluebird. I'd really, really love it if Maddie could be there. Daphne too if that's possible. I need my daughter to see her daddy doin' somethin' good, though." Deacon answered her.

"I will make that happen. You just get everythin' set up." Rayna told him.

"I will go do that now. You just take care of my baby boy." Deacon retorted.

"You baby boy is in good hands, daddy. Go handle your business." Rayna squeezed his hand before he got up from the table and walked out.

"Jesus, you two are enough to make a person sick." Tandy scoffed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rayna asked her.

"That means that even though you have a sure thing going with Luke I know you're gonna burn it to the ground to be with Deacon." Tandy observed wisely.

"Tandy, I don't have time for man trouble right now. The only man I'm concerned about is layin' on my bladder and playin' kickball with my kidneys." Rayna rolled her eyes. She didn't want to admit that her sister was right. As much as she wanted to be with Deacon she was scared of getting hurt again. She felt like she was in too deep with Luke to just walk away. She really was torn between the two of them. Not because she was in love with Luke, she knew for sure that she wasn't. She was just afraid that Deacon would fall apart again and she wouldn't be able to count on him to be there to build a life with.

Part of her knew that she had to get over all the hurt that they had caused each other in the past. It wasn't fair to any of the three people in the situation for her to keep stringing Luke along. She didn't want to do to another man what she'd done to Teddy. It just wouldn't be right, but on the other hand she didn't know that the man she wanted to build a life with would be in any position to do that.

"Well, whatever is going on at some point you will have to make a choice. No matter what someone is gonna get hurt here. It's probably better to do that hurting now then dragging it out and having it hurt worse. That's just my advice to you, you don't have to take it." Tandy tried her best to talk some sense into her.

"Tandy, I know all of that and I'm workin' on it. Trust me to know what I'm doin' here. If you'd trusted me when I found out I was pregnant with Maddie, you wouldn't have talked me into marryin' Teddy and we wouldn't be in this mess right now." Rayna leveled her with a serious look.

"I only did what I thought was best for you and your unborn baby. I'm never gonna apologize for that." Tandy shrugged unrepentantly.

"You're hopeless. You're worse about standin' your ground when you think you're right than I am." Rayna shook her head and rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Deacon, I can't believe that you're actually gonna do an album live at the Bluebird. You have no idea how cool that is." Maddie gushed. She and Deacon were seated in his living room holding guitars.

"What's cool is you know how cool it is to get to record at the Bluebird. I think that I have a pretty awesome daughter if I don't say so myself." Deacon beamed with pride.

"We for sure have to add your album to the collection we're starting for the Squirrel. I need for my collection of your albums too." She went on.

"You have a collection of my albums?" He was pleasantly surprised to hear her say that. None of the albums he'd put out on his own had ever gotten much traction. He couldn't believe that she knew about them.

"Of course, I do. My dad is this really great singer and songwriter. That is something for me to be proud of even if I can't let the world know you're my dad. It's something that I can have that one can shame me for." She replied.

"Why would you feel shame for bein' proud of havin' me for a father?" He asked her. He didn't like hearing her talk like that at all. He never wanted her to be ashamed of being his daughter.

"I guess shame isn't the right word. I meant guilt. I feel guilty for wanting to get to know you and your side of the family. It's like I'm supposed to worship the ground Teddy walks on and keep on pretending he's the perfect father even though he basically stole me from you. I know that mom had a hand in it too, but he did take something that wasn't his to take. He makes me feel so bad for wanting to be with you sometimes that I don't even think I want to spend time with him anymore. Plus, Squirrel is gonna get to have you from the start and get to tell everyone that you're his dad like it's no big deal. That's how I want it to be for me." She admitted.

"Hey, baby girl. You never have to feel guilty for bein' proud to be mine. And I know you wanna tell the world your truth. You just have to give me and momma a minute to figure out how to do that. I promise you that you will get to be mine in the open with no shame or guilt one day soon. Until then we have this time together just us to explore our relationship." He reached out, took her hand, and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope y'all enjoyed it. I'm sorry for the long wait. Until next time please review.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 10

Deacon knocked loudly on the door in front of him. He couldn't afford a real producer at the moment, so this would have to do.

Avery opened the door looking disheveled and like he wasn't ready to be out of bed yet. "Deacon, what are you doing here?"

"Long story short I have the Bluebird booked for tomorrow night. I'm doin' a live at the Bluebird album on Vinyl. I was thinkin' that you could produce it. I wanna put it down on analog and really make it old school. I hope you're in for that." Deacon answered him.

"I really love that idea. I guess that means you took that record deal." Avery replied.

"It looks like you and Scarlett did some talkin' 'fore you broke up. I didn't take that record deal I got a better one. I'm now a solo artist and head or A and R over at Highway Sixty-Five. I don't have much money right now, but I can throw a little bit your way if you do this for me." Deacon offered.

"You're in business with Rayna now? That's surprising." Avery retorted.

"We are havin' a baby together. That'll make it a grand total of two. I know that Scarlett told you everythin'. It shouldn't be that surprisin' that Rayna and I are in business together." Deacon looked him in the eyes.

"Scarlett did tell me about Maddie. I would love to produce this thing for you and be involved some way with the great Rayna Jaymes. I love your idea of putting this on analog and making it sound like an old school Nashville recording. I am in for sure. I'm sure that you already have a great set list prepared and I will have nothing to worry about, but getting these songs on track." Avery jumped at the chance to produce for a guy like Deacon.

Deacon handed him a piece of paper. "This is the set list. You just have to worry 'bout gettin' it on track. I know that you will give me your best work."

"I will be in touch with you to do a run through of this tomorrow." Avery replied.

Deacon turned to leave. "Have you heard from Juliette? I know that she's goin' through a rough time right now with gettin' dropped from Edgehill."

"She's doing fine." Avery assured him. He knew that because she was hiding under his covers at the moment.

"Glad to hear it. She's a damn stubborn thing, ain't she?" Deacon walked out without waiting for an answer to his question.

* * *

"Babe, you doing ok? This music video isn't too much for you?" Tandy checked in on her sister after the cameras had stopped rolling.

"Tandy, I am fine. This isn't the first time I have recorded an album or music video while pregnant." Rayna rolled her eyes at her sister.

"I know that, but you have never pushed yourself as hard as you are right now when you were pregnant before." Tandy pointed out to her.

"This is what the label needs right now and I can't do anythin' less than that. Until I start puttin' albums out this isn't gonna be a label except on a piece of paper." Rayna reasoned with her.

"Well, Deacon is gonna do his thing and that should make things easier on you." Tandy replied.

"Deacon doin' this Bluebird thing is gonna be great for the label. We just need to be ready to follow that up with some really great stuff." Rayna told her.

"You can and you will. You don't have to worry about that." Tandy tried her best to reassure her and keep her from putting too much stress on herself.

"I have to worry 'bout that. If I don't then things won't go as planned." Rayna retorted.

"You ain't gotta worry 'bout things not goin' as planned. I just went over and talked to Avery. My band is playin' the hell outta the songs and we are gonna do a practice run tonight at the Bluebird. I promise you that things will be ready to go for tomorrow night." Deacon showed up out of the blue.

"Deacon, try to calm this woman down. She is about ready to bounce off the walls." Tandy addressed him.

Deacon put his hand on Rayna's belly and bent over to kiss it. "Squirrel, you're supposed to be keepin' your momma calm when daddy can't be 'round to keep an eye on things. Little boy, if we don't keep an eye on her she will run herself into the ground."

"No fair usin' the baby against me." Rayna said in mock indignation.

"I have to go with what I know will work when it comes to gettin' you to listen." Deacon straightened up.

"That reminds me I have a name for the list of running names for the baby." Tandy told them.

"What is it?" Deacon asked. He was suffering through a list of names he would never choose for his son thanks to Rayna, Tandy, and the girls.

"I was thinking that Parker would be a really good name for him." Tandy answered him.

"I really like that." Rayna's face lit up.

"No way. That is a name that will get him beat up on the playground. It sounds too much like a little preppy banker. I'm sayin' no to that name for the same reason I said no to Easton. That isn't even worthy on the list. You can't name the son of a Mississippi redneck Parker." Deacon protested.

"Well, like it or not this baby is a Wyatt too and that does make him a little preppy businessman." Tandy argued.

"Tandy, this is my son too and I said no, so I need you to respect that." Deacon tried to keep his cool. Rayna's extended family made that damn near impossible.

"Tandy, if he doesn't like it then he doesn't like it and we can't force the name on him no matter how much we like it." Rayna tried to diffuse the situation before Deacon or Tandy could blow up at each other.

"I'm just saying he acts like this baby is only his and doesn't have a bit of your DNA in him." Tandy scoffed.

"I don't think that at all. I just think that this is my son and he is a Claybourne whether you like it or not and I do get a say when it comes to namin' him unlike with Maddie." Deacon argued back.

"Babe, for all intents and purposes this is his first baby and I have to take what he thinks and wants into account. We didn't give him a chance to have a say with Maddie, so we do need to hear him out now." Rayna explained patiently.

"You know what? You don't need this right now. I'm just gonna head over and get ready for my practice set at the Bluebird. I don't expect you to be able to make tonight and tomorrow night. Seein' that you're so busy I would rather have you there with our daughter tomorrow night. I would rather have the kinks worked out before y'all hear it." Deacon turned on his heel and left without another word.

Rayna glared at her sister. "Really? It was important for you to make a stand on that?"

"I just feel like he's trying to steamroll over you and you're gonna let him, because you feel so guilty about the Maddie situation." Tandy leveled with her.

"I'm not lettin' him steamroll over me. I'm just goin' out of my way to let him have a say with what goes on with his baby. And, yeah, part of that is because I kept his daughter from him for so long. Look I know best when it comes to makin' this situation work with him and I need you to let me do that." Rayna spoke to her bluntly.

"Ok, whatever you say." Tandy shrugged her shoulders and sighed. She didn't know when her sister was going to learn her lesson when it came to Deacon Claybourne. He'd been causing her trouble since the moment she met him and that probably wasn't going to change any time soon.

* * *

"Deacon!" Maddie and Daphne squealed as they ran up and hugged him tightly.

"Hey, y'all, I'm really glad that you could make it out tonight. I'm so excited to have my biggest fans in that audience." Deacon bent over and kissed both their heads.

"We wouldn't have missed it for anythin' in the world. There is nowhere else more important that we needed to be tonight. As far as I'm concerned the girls and Baby Claybourne are part of this company too and it was important for the three of them to be here." Rayna smiled at him.

Deacon grinned and then he bit his lip. She looked good enough to eat tonight. He would do it gladly and twice on Sunday with a smile on his face. "Well, I'm glad y'all are here. I should go get ready now. I saved y'all some good seats for family." He pointed to where Scarlett, Beverly, and June sat.

"You got mawmaw to come?" Maddie made sure to keep her voice at a whisper no one could know that Deacon was her father or that his mother was her grandmother. It was very unfair if you asked her. The whole world could know that Rayna was having Deacon's baby and that she was dating Luke, but no one could know that Deacon was also her father.

"I'm her baby boy. Of course, she showed up for this. Y'all should go sit next to her. She would love that more than anythin'." Deacon encouraged them.

Maddie and Daphne ran off to sit with June.

"I'm really glad you got her to come." Rayna smiled softly.

"Me too. I didn't want her to miss this." Deacon replied. "I should get up there and get this show on the road."

"Go be great. Your two biggest fans are here for you." Rayna took his hand and put it on her belly.

Deacon smiled when the baby kicked. "Well, now I know I will kill it tonight. I can't let my boy down when he is so excited."

The owner of the Bluebird introduced Deacon and he took the stage. He sat down behind the mic with his guitar and started to play softly. _"Distance don't mean a thing. I come when you pull the string. The strings of my heart wherever you are. Just pull and tug and tease. Time isn't all it seems no measure of you and me. Hours turn into days though I'm far away. Just pull and tug and tease. I keep comin' back oh, it's true. I keep comin' back 'cause that's what I do. I'll retrace my tracks to you." _He opened with a song that was clearly about Rayna without him explicitly saying the words.

"_A heart on the run keeps a hand on the gun you can't trust anyone. I was so sure what I needed was more tried to shoot out the sun. The days when we raged we flew off the page such damage was done. But I made it through 'cause somebody knew I was meant for someone." _Deacon found Rayna's eyes in the crowd and sang directly to her. He needed her to hear the words of this song and hear just what she meant to him.

"_So, girl, leave your boots by the bed we ain't leavin' this room 'til someone needs medical help and the magnolias bloom. It's cold in this house and I ain't goin' out to chop wood. So, cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good." _

Rayna's bottom lip quivered. She could feel the words he was singing to her in her soul.

"_Put your faith to the test when I tore off that dress in Richmond on high. I sobered up I swore off that stuff forever this time. And the old lovers sing I thought it be me who helped him get home. One I'd never seen 'til you came along. So, girl hang your dress out to dry we ain't leavin' this room. 'Til Percy Priest breaks open wide and the river runs through and carries this house on the stones like a piece of driftwood. So, cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good." _ This was his relationship with Rayna in a nutshell he couldn't say it any better if he tried to. With them it was better to do it through song.

Rayna's eyes filled up with tears. She felt every bit of the love she had for him. She also knew it was useless of her to deny that she wanted to be with him no matter what her head told her was the right thing to do.

"_So, girl leave your boots by the bed we ain't leavin' this room 'til someone needs medical help or the magnolias bloom. It's cold in this house and I ain't goin' out to chop wood. So, cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good. Cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good." _Deacon finished the song and moved on to the rest of his set.

"Ok, it looks like he's almost finished up with his fans and he's gonna be over here any minute." Rayna told the girls and Deacon's family after his set was finished.

Deacon walked over to them with a huge smile on his face. "Hey, how y'all doin'? Thanks for waitin' 'round for me so long."

"Oh, baby boy, that was incredible." June hugged him and kissed both his cheeks.

"Thanks, momma." Deacon smiled back.

Beverly wrapped her arms around her brother's neck tightly. "Well done, baby brother."

"That means a lot comin' from you." Deacon hugged her back.

"Uncle Deacon, you made it happen." Scarlett hugged him next.

"I did my best." Deacon tried to be modest.

Daphne hugged him around his legs. "That was great."

"Thanks, Squirt." Deacon patted her back.

"I'm gonna need a signed copy of that album." Maddie informed Deacon.

"I will make that happen for you. I'm glad you liked it." Deacon's heart was about to burst with pride. He loved that his daughter thought his music was that good. Her opinion meant more to him than almost anyone else's.

"You were my bandleader for entirely too long when what you needed to be was a front man." Rayna had dried tear tracks on her face.

"You really liked it that much?" Deacon asked. Hers was the opinion that mattered the most to him.

"Do you see me right now? I'm still a mess. You did keep comin' back and cover me up at the start of your set. I think it's safe to say those were 'bout me." Rayna praised them.

"There's no way they could be 'bout anyone else." Deacon stared deeply into her eyes.

"I need time. I know I've said that before, but I do. I have to end things with Luke and we need to go slow." Rayna knew what was in her heart.

"Take your time. I will always be here waitin' on ya." Deacon reassured her.

"I just wish I'd had this idea 'fore I went public with him. If I had then I woulda never done it. I was just tryin' to get over you." Rayna admitted to him.

"It's ok, Ray, we can get through this together." Deacon stared into her eyes.

"I think we will. You've never been this strong and stable before." Rayna took his hand and squeezed it. She loved this version of the man she loved. She liked him being in control and on top of things. It took a huge weight off her shoulders. She wasn't going to complain of not having to be in control of one more thing. It all seemed like it was going to be too much for her sometimes. There were times when it felt like she had to be so strong and handle everything else for everyone that she didn't know how she would handle it for one more second much less one more day.

* * *

"Deacon! Hey, hey, hey, welcome to this Highway Sixty-five meeting." Bucky greeted him.

"Well, thank you for such an enthusiastic welcome, Buck." Deacon took a seat at the kitchen table with the rest of them.

"He's that happy to see you, because, of the killer reviews on your set at the Bluebird last night. You really exceeded the expectations that any of us had. Why didn't you go solo sooner? You would be bigger than Luke Wheeler if you had." Tandy actually praised him for a change.

"I didn't go solo sooner, 'cause your baby sister needed me to play guitar and write songs with her." Deacon shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I can see how wrong I was to keep you by my side no matter how badly I needed you. I robbed the world from your talent for long." Rayna chimed in.

"With that outta the way we should get down to business." Bucky cleared his throat.

Deacon claimed an empty coffee cup from the center of the table and filled it from the carafe. "What's on your mind, Bucky?" He could tell that the other man was worried about something.

"I think I know what Bucky's concern is. We have you, Rayna, and Scarlett, but we need more artists than that. We need to think 'bout signing someone else to the label." Tandy picked.

"Tandy, we know and we will get there eventually. I know that Deacon probably has enough songs to keep us goin' for a few months. He has so many damn songs that he sells them to make sure they get played by someone on a regular basis." Rayna tried to get her sister off her back.

"Be that as it may we still need more income coming into the label." Tandy argued.

"I have a bad idea if anyone is interested in hearin' it." Deacon knew that if he didn't speak up Tandy would plow over him and not give a damn that she did.

"You're the man who got my sister pregnant twice out of wedlock. I think that all your ideas are bad ideas. That bein' said tell the rest of us what's on your mind." Tandy rolled her eyes.

Deacon just shook her comment off. "This may be the worst idea in the world, but I was thinkin' that maybe we should sign Juliette. She doesn't have a label right now and she will recover from this scandal and bounce back more popular than ever. She ain't the first country artist to tell the establishment to go to hell."

"That is a horrible idea, but it's one that has merit." Rayna couldn't help, but agree with him.

"It's not that horrible." Bucky was thinking of all the revenue that Juliette would pull in.

Tandy held her hand up. "No, no way in hell. She's not just bad for business. It's bad to even think about being associated with her right now. She is radioactive." She voiced her concerns.

"Johnny, Willie, Waylon, Kris, and Loretta. That's just the name of a few country music superstars who over the years have told the country music establishment could stick it and they are considered legends now. She's controversial for sure, but that works in our favor. There are a lotta people who think she is gettin' a raw deal. We would be seen as visionaries for signin' her and tellin' the rest of the world to go get fucked." Deacon spoke bluntly.

"He ain't wrong. It's somethin' that we should really give a lotta thought to." Rayna predictably sided with him.

"This is gonna happen no matter what I think isn't it?" Tandy just gave up on getting the other three to see reason.

"That's a pretty good bet when it comes to these two." Bucky answered her even though her question didn't require an answer.

"She's closer to you and likes you better you should be the one to make the offer." Rayna spoke to Deacon like the other two hadn't said a word.

"I can try my best. This is Juliette we are talkin' 'bout, so I can't promise anythin' at all. I will talk to her though." Deacon replied. The only person in the room who mattered to him was Rayna.

Rayna gasped and put her hand on her belly. "I'm pretty sure that your son agrees with you. Either that or he doesn't like what his momma ate for breakfast."

"I think it's a little bit of both. My son thinks I'm a genius and he can't deal with the undoubtedly crappy food you ate for breakfast." Deacon teased her.

"So, you'll talk to her?" Rayna asked like he hadn't said anything else.

"I will talk to her and let you know how it goes." Deacon promised her.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter, I hope y'all enjoyed it. Until next time please review.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 11

Rayna knocked on Deacon's front door. The news she had to deliver to him was better done in person.

Deacon opened the door with a huge smile on his face. "Hey, Ray, what are you doin' here? Did you finally break up with Wheeler and come to tell me that we can be together?"

Rayna smiled at him sadly. "I wish that's what I came to tell you. I would be over the moon if that's what I came to tell you. I took the girls to meet Luke's son last night as you know and somehow a video of Maddie as Maddie Claybourne got posted and now we have to deal with that. I know that we need you and Luke to be out on tour together, but he is upset about this. We are gonna finally have to address the issue of Maddie's paternity. If we don't then people are just gonna gossip 'bout it."

"I will do whatever I need to do for my daughter, but I won't lie, Ray. I'm not gonna say that I knew 'bout her and walked away if that's what you want from me. I just can't do that. I can't be my father in any way. I hope that you didn't come here to ask me to do that." Deacon sighed.

"I didn't. I came here to ask you to tell the truth. No matter what that sounds like when it comes outta your mouth. I will just remind you that we are in business together. If people see me as a liar and a cheater then it ain't gonna go well for us." Rayna told him honestly.

Deacon ran his hands over his face and sighed. "What I'm willin' to say. Is that none of us knew until recently that Maddie was my daughter and now we are doin' the best we can to work it out." He hated what she was asking him to do and he was doing his best to make the best of that. He just didn't want to be seen as a deadbeat dead in anyone's eyes.

Rayna actually cracked a small smile. "Really? You're willin' to do that for me?"

"Of course, I am. I love you, Ray. Not only do I love you, I don't want our kids to think badly of you or any of the rest of the world for that matter. Whatever of the else has gone on between us is no one else's damn business. I told you I will say whatever you want me to say short of sayin' I knew 'bout her, but wouldn't step up and be her daddy." He leveled with her.

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. "I love you too and I will always make you that our babies know what a good man their daddy is. That includes the two we have and however many we may have in the future."

He rubbed his nose against hers. "You want us to have more babies together?"

"Yeah, I do. The plan was always for us to have four together. We may not get to that number, but I hope we get close. I'm even willin' to adopt if you are." She replied.

"I don't have a problem with that at all. I just love it that you're now plannin' the future where we are together. I know you can't be through with Luke yet, but I know we will be together one day soon." He pecked her lips over and over.

"I will get rid of Luke as soon as I can. Right now, though, we need to handle this Maddie situation the right way. I don't want her to get anymore hurt from the mistake I made than she already has been." She leaned her forehead against his.

"Ok. So, we say that we just found out that she's mine a few months ago and we let that be the story. You had thought for sure she was Teddy's, but when we got back together you had a DNA test run just to be sure. And then the night of our accident I had just found out and you were drivin' me home, but a distracted driver hit us." He spun a tale for her.

She kissed him again and she smiled. "I really, really fuckin' love you. That is just 'bout the perfect scenario."

"I have to be good for somethin' every once in awhile." He shrugged.

"You're good for a lotta things a lotta the time. Like right now you're gonna take me to bed and screw my brains out, 'cause that's what I need after the mornin' I've had." She ordered him.

"I ain't got a problem with that." He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his bedroom.

* * *

"Teddy, are you sure you should be doing this? I mean you have to think about how this is going to make you look to your constituents. This plan makes you look like a fool. You also would look bad if you and Rayna got up there and told the truth. It would look like you conspired to keep a man's daughter from him. If, however you said that you had no clue that there was a possibility that Deacon could be Maddie's father then you would look better." Peggy whispered to Teddy. They were in Rayna's kitchen.

"Peggy, this isn't about my political career, this is about my oldest daughter. If I don't play this right, I could lose a lot more than votes. I could lose her and I could lose my entire career if I come off looking like the bad guy." Teddy pointed out to her.

"That's my point exactly. If you let Rayna paint this as being all your fault, then your image may never recover." Peggy retorted.

"I'm not the only person whose feelings have to be considered in this equation. Rayna has an image to think about too." Teddy replied.

"Again, that's my point. This is Rayna's mess you should let her image take the hit instead of yours. She will recover from this, you may not. This is her daughter and she is the one who decided to keep the truth from the biological father." Peggy tried to get him to see reason.

"I can't do that. If Rayna's image takes a hit, then that might cause problems for her with this label she is trying to build. Like it or not I don't have just one child with Rayna I have two. If this label she is trying to build crashes and burns, then they could potentially lose everything that they know and love. I can't do that to them just to save my own ass." Teddy argued with her.

"Well, you can't let it look like your ex-wife still calls the shots when it comes to what you do with your life." Peggy argued back with him.

"Peggy, I'm not gonna do anything that will hurt my girls and you just need to forget that right now." Teddy put his foot down.

Rayna and Deacon walked into the room before Peggy had a chance to reply.

"Alright, we have a problem and we know what it is. We need to get out in front of this before people have a chance to spin this the way they think it is instead of how it actually is." Rayna spoke up.

"We do need to cover that, but we also need to discuss why Maddie made a video using her actual last name." Deacon made his two cents known.

"Cards on the table I will say whatever you want me to say. I just want to do what's best for Maddie." Teddy was willing to play along.

"We thought the best way to do that would be to say that all of us didn't know that Maddie was Deacon's daughter until recently. That way we all come out of this with clean hands." Rayna informed him.

"Why don't you say that Deacon knew and chose to walk away to do what's best for his daughter?" Peggy suggested.

"It's not gonna work that way." Rayna did her best to keep her cool.

"No way in hell does that happen. I refuse to be made to look like the deadbeat in this situation." Deacon put his foot down.

"I agree with him. It wouldn't be fair to him to make him get up there and say that." Rayna backed him up.

"Now, why did Maddie post that video like that?" Deacon asked.

Teddy sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "The best we can figure is Maddie got mad, because Peggy took her guitar away."

"What? Why? Peggy isn't her fuckin' mother and she has no damn right to try to parent her. She shouldn't even be tryin' to. Maddie doesn't have to listen to a fuckin' thing she has to say. She has two parents already." Deacon raged.

"Babe, you need to calm down." Rayna rubbed Deacon's back.

"I will not calm down. I want to know who the fuck this woman thinks she is." Deacon's nostrils flared.

"Peggy, what were you thinkin'?" Rayna asked.

"Teddy mentioned that her grades were slipping and I thought that her having her guitar was a distraction." Peggy answered.

"You listen to me and you listen to me good, woman. You don't try to tell my daughter what to do. Music and playin' guitar are a passion that we both share. You never get to take that away from her or try to stifle her voice. I don't give a good fuck how bad her grades are. Different people have different talents. Hers aren't academic they are musically inclined. I'm not gonna see her be pushed and bullied into somethin' she don't want. You have no authority over her and you damn well better stop actin' like you do. I'll tell y'all what I'm gonna solve this right fuckin' now. I'm goin' to the courts and I'm gonna ask to have paternity and my rights established. I ain't playin' your damn games no more. Maddie will finish school there is doubt 'bout that, but she ain't bein' the preppy ass person y'all want her to be. That is my daughter y'all kept from me and I will have sole custody. I'm done." Deacon slammed his hand down on the counter and stormed out of the room.

"Well, Peggy, you really did it this time. He'll go on tv tomorrow and say what needs to be said, but you just cost my daughter her relationship with Teddy and I hope you're happy. There is no talkin' to him when he gets like this. He won't back down either. He is gonna get a court order for him to have his daughter. It could have been a lot simpler than this, but you had to open your big mouth and interfere with somethin' that wasn't your business." Rayna sighed loudly. It would take her all night to get Deacon calmed down.

"You wouldn't really let him do that would you? That's not fair to Teddy at all. He has done everything for Maddie and he deserves to still be part of her life. He shouldn't be cut out now that Deacon is finally in the picture." Peggy argued with her.

Rayna saw red. "Let me tell you somethin', Peggy. You don't get a damn say. These are my girls. Maddie is mine and Deacon's. She ain't a damn thing to you. You weren't here when those decisions were made. We made them with Maddie's best intentions in mind, but I think those were the wrong decisions. Teddy has gotten on board with the fact, that Deacon is gonna be part of her life and that he is her father. You can't seem to understand that." She grabbed her belly to fight off the pain she was feeling.

"Rayna, calm down. I will get a handle on this if you can get a handle on Deacon. I would hate for him to do something in the heat of the moment that would hurt Maddie." Teddy could see that she was in distress.

"Y'all know what? I'm pregnant right now. This is supposed to be a happy time in my life. I shouldn't have to be fightin' for my children's father to be a part of their lives. That should go without sayin'. I do have a child with Teddy too and I don't wanna hurt him in any way. That's why gettin' up there tomorrow and sayin' what we just agreed on is so damn important. I'm not just protectin' myself here. I'm protectin' both the fathers of my children." Rayna bit her lip to stave off the pain.

"Deacon! Get in here now!" Teddy called out knowing that Rayna needed him.

Deacon rushed back into the room. He took one look at Rayna and knew that something was wrong. He stood behind her and put both hands on her belly protectively. "Shh, it's ok. It's all gonna be ok. I'm right here, Ray. Our boy needs you to calm down. I know that you wanna protect his big sister, but you need to let me and Teddy worry 'bout her and Daphne. Right now we need your focus on this boy. You need to keep calm to carry him to term. He needs his momma lookin' out for him." He rubbed her belly soothingly. "Big, deep breaths, Ray. Squirrel will settle down if you do."

Rayna breathed slowly in her nose and out her mouth.

"Come on, Baby Claybourne, you settle down in there. I told you to go easy on your momma she has enough to deal with right now. We need you healthy, baby boy." Deacon spoke in soft hushed tones. "I think you two should go now. We all know what we need to say tomorrow." He told Teddy and Peggy.

"Of course, Deacon, you call me if she doesn't get any better and I will come take care of the girls." Teddy replied.

"I will do that if I have to." Deacon assured him. He kept rubbing Rayna's belly.

"Come on, Peggy, we need to leave." Teddy took his wife by the arm.

Deacon made soft shushing noises in Rayna's ear.

"You are incredible. I don't know what I would do without you here." Rayna leaned back against him and relaxed considerably.

"You gonna be ok if I go home tonight?" Deacon peppered soft kisses on her neck.

"Can't you just stay and sneak out 'fore the girls get up for school?" Rayna whined a little bit.

"You sure Luke ain't gonna show up?" Deacon teased her.

"He's not gonna come over here. He's pissed at me for not tellin' him you're Maddie's father." Rayna pressed against him.

"Yeah, I know, he's pretty pissed at me too. He acts like it was his damn business to get into." Deacon kissed the other side of her neck.

"I don't wanna think 'bout all that, babe. Take me up to bed and hold me. I can't handle this right now." Rayna implored him.

"Anythin' you want, babe." Deacon walked upstairs to the bedroom with her.

She laid down in bed on side.

He got in bed behind her and held her like she wanted.

"What do I have to do to get you to not take us to court?" She asked.

"I wouldn't actually do that. I would just make you agree between the two of us to keep her from goin' to Teddy's. It was the heat of the moment and I was pissed." He rubbed her belly to soothe her.

"I think I'm 'bout there with you. I don't want Peggy thinkin' that she has a say in her life. She isn't bad to Daphne, I guess 'cause she knows she's Teddy's, but from what I've heard lately she seems to single out Maddie to treat like crap." She relaxed even more.

"I don't want her abusin' my daughter and that's exactly what it is." He kissed her cheek.

"Let's cross that bridge only if we have to." She begged him.

"I agree if you do." He was trying to keep from stressing her out.

* * *

"Well, good mornin', gorgeous. I wish you woulda stayed in bed for a little while longer I was hopin' to surprise you with breakfast in bed." Luke said from where he stood cooking at the stove.

Rayna sighed inwardly. She couldn't have him just showing up like that whenever he felt like it. "Luke, hey, I wish you woulda called before you showed up. I have to get outta here pretty early to do this thing for Maddie today."

"I know that, but you and the baby still gotta eat." Luke replied.

"I don't know that I would be able to keep anythin' down right now." Rayna told him.

"At least try some toast. If not for you then for the baby." Luke urged her.

Before Rayna could reply Deacon walked into the room. "Hey, Ray, you 'bout ready to go do this?"

Rayna squeezed her eyes shut tightly. This day was going to be trying enough as it was. She didn't need Luke throwing a temper tantrum and making it worse.

"Rayna, what the hell is he doin' here? Did he stay here last night?" Luke demanded.

"Hey, man, you don't own her. She can do what she wants to do with whoever she wants to do it with." Deacon was in a bad mood anyway. It wouldn't take much for his temper to explode.

"If you must know he did stay here last night. I thought it would be good for Maddie to be home and have both of us here. I needed him here. He kept the baby calm down and kept me from stressin' out too much. If you don't like that I can't help it and I won't apologize for it." Rayna was firm in that declaration.

"You coulda called me and I woulda stayed over." Luke adjusted his tone when he saw that she wasn't going to take his shit.

"This is my family not yours. I was the one they needed not you. I can take care of 'em just fine without your help." Deacon told him coolly.

Luke put his hands out in a sign of surrender and took a step back. "Whoa, I'm not tryin' to step on anyone's toes here. I know that Maddie and this baby are yours. If I have my way 'bout it though, I am gonna be a big important part of their lives."

"We will see 'bout that." Deacon crossed his arms over his chest.

"I don't have the time or the patience to deal with this shit this mornin'. You're either here to be supportive or you can leave. Nothin' happened last night and if it had it would be my personal business. Who I have stay over at the house I pay for is none of anyone's business." Rayna put her foot down.

Luke walked over and put his arms around her. "You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so heated." He made a show of placing a kiss on her temple.

"Ray, you know that I only want what's best for you and our babies. I'm here for you for whatever you need or want." Deacon swore to her.

"I know that, Deacon. I think we should go do this and get it over with." Rayna untangled herself from Luke's arms.

"Hey, I was thinkin' that it would be nice if I were there for you today. Just for moral support. I will keep myself behind the scenes and no one will even know I'm there." Luke suggested.

Deacon's eyebrows shot up to his hairline when he heard him say that, but he smartly kept silent.

"You don't have to come. This is gonna be as quick and painless as I can possibly make it." Rayna tried to stop him from coming.

"No, I wanna be there for you. It's what you do for your girlfriend." Luke took her hand.

"Ok, if you're sure you wanna do this." Rayna resigned herself to her fate.

* * *

Deacon was sitting on the porch of his cabin in a rocker just looking out at the water. Thankfully they had gotten the Maddie situation cleared up and now he needed time to think.

"Deacon, are you ok? You seem really lost in thought." Maddie walked out on the porch and took the chair next to his. She was up there with him to keep her away from media circus going on in Nashville right now.

"Yeah, I'm right as rain, baby girl. I was just thinkin' 'but how happy I am to have you up here with me. This place is so important to your momma and me." He smiled up at her.

"Why?" She asked.

"I bought this place for your momma after she was nominated for her first CMA award. She told me that she always dreamed of havin' a house on the water. I couldn't get her anythin' big or fancy, but I could get her this. We spent almost all of our free time up here when we weren't out on tour or in the studio recordin'. We used to sit right here on this porch together and make music. Or we'd sit down on the dock while I fished and tanned. Those were honestly some of the best times of my life. Then I found out 'bout you and now every minute I get to spend with you is the best time of my life." He spoke to her from the heart.

"Can I ask how you met my mom?" She inquired.

"I met her at the Bluebird durin' an open mic thing. I knew the minute I laid eyes on her that I was gonna love her for the rest of my life." He recalled fondly.

"Did you ever think about marrying her?" She was full of questions that she didn't have the answers to yet.

"I thought 'bout it a lot. It was just never the right time for us. It looks like we still have that problem. We had everythin' together that married people do we just didn't have the piece of paper to make it official. We had a lotta great years together. I don't think anyone has spent enough time tellin' you that. You've heard that fell apart and we could be stormy at times, but no one has ever told you how good we are together. She is my best friend and I don't know what I would do if I didn't have her in my life at all. I still see her in that house in east Nashville even though she ain't lived there in years. I'll tell ya somethin' else. I still love your momma and no other woman will ever make me feel the way she does." Deacon unloaded more than he meant to on his daughter.

She got up from her chair and sat on his knee. "I know it sucks that we didn't get to be together before, but I'm glad that we can be here together now, dad." She laid her head on his shoulder.

His eyes watered, his throat got tight, and he kissed the top of her head. He put his arms around her. "I couldn't think of anyone else I would want sittin' beside me on a night like this. I'm so glad that you came into my life no matter how much heartache it caused."

"I love you, daddy." She buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"I love you too, Maddie." He patted her back. "What do you say I teach you how to make a fire?"

"I would like that a lot." She nodded her head in agreement.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter, I hope y'all enjoyed it. I promise that Rayna is gonna get rid of Luke, but I can't make it too easy. Until next time please review.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

* * *

Chapter 12

Rayna looked out the passenger window of Luke's SUV. "Luke, when are you gonna tell me where we are goin'? You told me a few days ago that you needed some time and now today you say you have a surprise for me. I'm really confused."

"I do need some time, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be with you or do nice things for you." Luke pulled up the drive of his ranch.

"Well, I just don't wanna pressure you. I don't want you to think that you have to be in this situation when you don't have to be." She replied.

"I'm right where I wanna be." He drove the truck up to one of the pastures where there were huge white tents set up. He got out and opened her door for her.

"Luke, what is all this?" She looked around and saw all the people who were gathered.

"My mother and my sister insisted that I needed to throw you a baby shower if I was serious 'bout bein' with ya. I couldn't argue with 'em." He told her.

"I don't know what to say to that." She had tears fill her eyes.

"Come celebrate this baby with me." He offered her his hand.

"Thank you, Luke, you didn't have to do this." She took his hand and smiled at him.

"You're welcome, darlin'," He smiled back at her.

"Mom!" Maddie and Daphne called out and rushed into their mother's arms.

"What are you girls doin' here? You're both supposed to be with your fathers." Rayna put her arms around both her daughters and hugged them tightly.

"I guess Luke talked to dad and Deacon and got them to agree with us being here today." Maddie informed her.

Luke smiled broadly. "That's exactly what I did. I had a word with Teddy, since the girls were supposed to be with him today and I got him to agree to let them come here and celebrate this baby."

Rayna looked at him lovingly. "Well, thank you." There wasn't much she could say besides that.

"Again, you're welcome. I want you to enjoy the day and not have to worry. I know that too much stress isn't good for you or the baby." He told her.

Rayna just smiled there wasn't anything that she could say to that.

"Luke, you need to let that woman breathe and let us fuss over her." Linda Wheeler told her son. She took Rayna in her arms before he could reply. "Hey, darlin', congratulations on this brand new baby boy of yours."

Rayna hugged her back, not that she had much of a choice. "Hi, it's so nice to finally meet you. Thank you for doin' all this for me."

"Don't mention it. If Luke loves you this much to talk 'bout you all the time, then you're worth it." Linda hugged her tighter.

"Rayna, don't you let my momma scare you off. We are very excited that my brother finally has a woman to bring 'round us and that he looks to be settlin' down again." Luke's sister Hayden took her turn to hug Rayna.

Rayna laughed politely. "There is no scarin' me off, I'm much stronger than that." She hugged Luke's sister. She tried her best to ignore the look that Maddie was giving her. She could see that her daughter wanted to be anywhere else in the world, but there right now.

"It took me some doin', but I even got Colt and Sage here for the occasion." Luke pointed at his two children.

"Colt, Sage, it is so good to see y'all. Thank you so much for comin' today and helpin' your daddy out with this." Rayna hugged both his children just to make nice. She wasn't sure that this was such a good idea, but now wasn't the time to say anything about it.

"It's not like we had much of a choice." Colt grumbled.

Sage ignored her brother's bad mood. "We are excited to be and we are excited for there to be another baby in the family." She squealed excitedly.

"Daphne, have you met Sage yet? Y'all are 'bout the same age." Rayna introduced the two young girls. It would be good if they got along.

"We've met, mom." Daphne reassured her.

Luke put his arm around Rayna's shoulders. "Come on, you need to meet my brother." He led her away without giving her any choice in if she wanted to follow him or not.

"Ok," Rayna smiled tightly. This was throwing a massive wrench in her moving on with her life with Deacon. Luke could make all the grand gestures that he wanted, but a life with him just wasn't what she wanted.

Luke stopped in front of another man who looked a lot like him only younger. "Rayna, this is my brother, Matt."

Rayna extended her hand to him. "It's nice to meet you."

"Put that thing away. With as crazy as Luke is 'bout you we have to hug." Matt hugged her.

Rayna laughed. "I've heard so much 'bout you that I feel like I know you." She gave in to the hug he was giving her.

Maddie watched from off in the distance and sighed. This was the last thing she wanted. She didn't want her mom to get so comfortable with Luke that she moved on with him instead of Deacon. She wanted her parents together and she wasn't about to apologize for that.

"If you wanted to we could always go up to the house and escape this lame party." Colt offered. He wasn't thrilled about being there either. To him it seemed like his dad was rushing headlong into a new relationship with a pregnant woman. He acted like he was more excited about her having a baby than he was to spend time with his own kids.

"Yeah, I guess that's the only thing that is gonna make this day bearable. I don't even wanna be here right now." Maddie retorted.

"I agree, come on." Colt gestured with his head for her to follow him.

Rayna looked over her shoulder in time to see Maddie and Colt walk off together. "I wonder where those two are gettin' off to."

Luke looked in the direction he saw her staring in. "That's nothin' to worry 'bout. Colt 'probably just wants to show her 'round the place. Let 'em be. They will bond better without us right there keepin' an eye on every move they make. We want 'em to get along that way they won't give us too much push back 'bout bein' together."

"That's what you think. You don't know my daughter very well." Rayna rolled her eyes and sighed. He really was clueless. He'd been dragging her kicking and screaming to make every advance in their relationship. She just wasn't that in to him and he couldn't see that.

* * *

"What the fuck? You have got to be fuckin' kiddin' me." Deacon groaned out loud.

"What has you in such a mood?" Scarlett asked her uncle.

"Deacon Henry John, you need to watch your damn mouth." June called her son down. She was in town to spend more time with both her granddaughters once Maddie was back with Deacon.

"Momma, I can't help myself and you know that." Deacon rolled his eyes. "Just talk a look at that damn tweeter and you tell me what's wrong, Scarlett."

"Twitter," Scarlett corrected him automatically. She took his phone from him and looked at what had drawn his ire. She saw a picture of Luke and Rayna with both their kids and his hands on Rayna's pregnant belly. "Uncle Deacon, it doesn't matter what he posts or what he says. Maddie and the baby are both your children and he can't take that away from you. He can try to step in your shoes, but that isn't gonna change what's true." She tried to talk her uncle down off the ledge he was on.

"I know, that, but that don't mean the fairytale he's tryin' to spin don't piss me off." He sighed loudly.

"Deacon, you know what you feel and you know what that woman feels. Don't let the façade he's tryin' to put up change that for you." June put her two cents in on the matter. She knew how her son could get when he got fired up and she was trying to avoid that if she could help it. She didn't need him acting like his father for no good damn reason. Really she knew that he had reason to be pissed off, but she didn't want his temper to go off the rails if she could avoid it.

"I know that, but it don't make it any easier. Rayna has done let one man raise my daughter, it's a little hard for me to trust that she won't let the same thing happen when it comes to my son. If it's at all possible that would break my heart even more than her lettin' Teddy raise Maddie." Deacon wore his emotions on his sleeve. He could be vulnerable like that when it came to his mother. She had seen him at his weakest at the hands of his father and he didn't need to put up a front with her.

"I think that you need to trust that Rayna won't make the same mistake twice and let her make this mistake with Luke. She will come to her senses sooner rather than later." June pointed out to him.

"That's easier said than done." He shrugged his shoulders. He just couldn't stand Luke acting like his family belonged to him. The other man had always had a thing for Rayna and now he was acting like he'd won some kind of game instead of the heart of a good woman.

"Uncle Deacon, if you can't tell she isn't comfortable with the way he's pushin' her." Scarlett chimed in.

"I've noticed, but I also ain't seen her doin' anythin' to stop that behavior." He couldn't just look on the bright side of things.

"Just give her a chance. I'm sure that she will prove you wrong." June added.

"I hope she does. It just can't stand the fact that he's actin' like this baby is his." He fumed. He had every right to feel that way given that he'd missed out on most of his daughter's life.

* * *

Rayna drove up to the cabin with Maddie. She was making things easy by taking her up there to meet Deacon and his mother. He was being a good sport about everything and she didn't want to challenge him on that.

Maddie rushed out of the SUV when she saw her grandmother was sitting on the front porch next to her father. "Mawmaw! You're here!" She had her arms wide open to hug her.

"Maddie, you're finally here!" June took her granddaughter into her arms and hugged her as tightly as she could.

"Deacon, our daughter has very good taste. She loves your momma dearly." Rayna smiled and stood in front of her car holding Maddie's bag.

"I can't argue with you there." Deacon walked over and took Maddie's bag from her. "My momma is 'bout the only Claybourne worthy of her love."

"That ain't true. Her daddy is pretty damn worthy of her love too." Rayna gave him a look.

"I really don't feel like that. I can't be too worthy of love if the mother of my children keeps choosin' other men over me." He shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

Rayna closed her eyes and sighed. She should have known that it was too much to hope for that Deacon hadn't seen any of the pictures that Luke had posted of the baby shower he'd thrown her.

"Deacon, that's not true at all. I happen to think that you're very worthy of her love and of mine. If this is 'bout that baby shower Luke threw I had no control over that. If I had been given a choice, I would have told him not to do that. He can act like this is his son all he wants, but that ain't true. This is your son and nothin' will ever change that. I would have much rather you'd and your family had been there. When he does things like that he makes it very hard for me to end things with him no matter how much I want to. On the plus side he is goin' outta town and maybe I can dodge a bullet that way. I want to raise this boy up with you and don't you forget that." Rayna brushed her knuckles over his cheek.

"Maybe this way you can just say that you two grew apart and it was no one's fault." He replied hopefully.

"I'm hopin' for that too. You and June have a good time with our girl this weekend. I hope you have plans to bring our boy up here and teach him to love this place as much as we do." She kissed his cheek.

"I agree on both counts and I will make that happen on both counts." He smiled at her.

"I'm serious, babe. I want to raise this baby up with you as a family." She told him to make sure he knew she meant business.

"I want that too. I'm just waitin' for you to get rid of the dead weight." He arched his eyebrow.

"I'm more sure of this than I've ever been of anythin' in my entire life. When he gets back from his tour I'm gonna end things with him and everythin' will be alright." She swore to him.

"You know when done crossed a line that we didn't cross when you were married to Teddy. I don't see the harm is us livin' our life together and then you givin' him the boot when he gets back." He told her.

"I said I wanted us to take things slow. I don't wanna get Maddie's hopes up and then this not work out." She retorted.

"You know that when it comes to us there is no takin' things slow. We are either all in or all out." He pointed out to her.

She shrugged her shoulders and grinned. "You do make a point. I could keep fightin' this pull between us and it would be pointless. I just need to give in now and save us a whole lotta time and a whole lotta heartache."

"I'm so glad to hear you say that." He took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. He didn't care if their daughter or his mother saw them.

"I'm so glad that you just did that. You know I need to get on home. I would love to stay, but I can't. You have your mother and our daughter here with you this weekend. I don't wanna intrude on that." She rested her forehead against his.

"You wouldn't be intrudin' at all. You would be welcome." He informed her.

"I don't have any clothes and there isn't a place for me to sleep." She loved the idea of staying with him and their daughter, but she didn't think it would be possible.

"I think I can get some clothes for you and you can take my bed. I will sleep on the couch." He said after he thought it over for a moment.

"Are you sure you want this?" She asked him.

"I'm positive. And if we do this right we can spend a little time in that bedroom together after momma and Maddie go to sleep." He made his eyebrows dance.

"I'm not gonna argue with that." She hooked her arm through his and walked up on the front porch with him.

"Rayna, I just made some lemonade. Do you want some?" June asked the younger woman.

"I would love that." Rayna smiled as Deacon helped her into one of the rockers that was on the porch.

"Then you just sit down and take a load off. Maddie and I will get that for you." June smiled knowingly. "Maddie, come on let's get some drinks and snacks." She led her granddaughter into the house.

"Do you think we are foolin' her?" Rayna asked.

"Probably not, I think she knows exactly what's goin' on between us. She may know even better than we know." Deacon laughed.

"At this point I don't give a damn." Rayna tilted her head up and stole a kiss form him.

"I don't give a damn either." Deacon kissed her back and smiled against her lips.

* * *

Deacon snuck in the side door of Rayna's house and closed it behind him softly.

"Well, I'll tell you what, in this light you look an awful lot like the boy who used to sneak into the bedroom at my daddy's house." Rayna was in the kitchen waiting for him to come over. Every since that they had agreed to just go for it and be together no matter what he had been sneaking over to see her regularly.

"The adorable pregnant belly aside you look an awful lot like the girl whose bedroom I used to sneak into." Deacon wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

"Hey, now, you better watch yourself, boy. I didn't call you over here for that tonight." Rayna pushed her hips back against his and bit her lip.

"What did you call me over here for then?" Deacon asked her. He bit back a moan.

"I called you over here to write with me. I know that we have the single, but I want a bonus song just to make things fun." Rayna replied.

"We can make that happen." Deacon agreed happily.

"Did you bring your guitar?" She didn't have to ask that she already knew the answer. He always came prepared with his guitar whether he needed it or not.

"Of course, I brought my guitar. Do you even know me?" He joked.

"I do know you very well. That's how I know that I didn't have to ask that question. Meet me in the music room after you get it outta the truck." She winked at him.

"I will be right back." He stole a quick kiss and then went back out to his truck.

Rayna was in he music room waiting for him when he got back. "There you are. You know better than to keep me waitin' on you that long." She teased him playfully.

"I do know better than that. I can't help it that I don't move as quickly as I used to. You need to realize that the boy you fell in love with got old while he was waitin' on you to come back to him." He sat down across from her and took his guitar out of the case.

"You waited for me?" She was blown away by that. It meant more to her than she could put into words that he had been waiting for her to come back to him.

"Of course, I waited for you. I knew that it was only a matter of time 'fore we ended up back together. I saw you with Teddy and I knew without a doubt that he wasn't what you wanted, no matter what line you were tryin' to sell me." He sat his guitar down and took both her hands in his.

She squeezed his hands and smiled. "You always have known me better than I know myself. The faith that you have in us as a couple blows me away. I saw the looks you gave me when we weren't together and I knew that you still loved me. You're the one who has always been more secure in our love than I have been. You see us for what we are and you are more than willin' to take that leap of faith. And now I'm all in with you. It's taken me a lot longer than it should have, but I'm ready to jump in with you right now."

He leaned over and kissed her. "I will always have faith in us even when you doubt us. I know that we are meant to be."

"Damn right we are." She rubbed her nose against his.

Deacon started playing around with a guitar string that was in his case. He twisted it into a ring and he got down on one knee. "Ray, I love you and it's as simple as that. Please marry me, baby." He slipped the makeshift ring on her finger.

Rayna gasped and then she smiled. "Of course, I'll marry you. I have one baby with you and another on the way. There is no way that I can say no to you."

"I was hopin' you'd say that." Deacon kissed her and then he kissed her belly. "Hey, Bubba, daddy just got momma to agree to marry him. You better be ready for a wild ride." He told his unborn son.

Rayna just laughed and ran her hands through his hair.

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter I hope y'all enjoyed it. Don't think that it is gonna be that easy for Rayna and Deacon to be together. I plan to throw an obstacle or two in their way before they get to play happy family. No worries, though, they are gonna make it out the other end together and stronger for it. Until next time please review.


End file.
